Lightning on the Wave
by Araceil
Summary: Serpent in the Shadows, challenge 12. Sent to spy on the Hidden Countries, Harry Potter ends up heading home earlier than planned with a certain Uchiha Obito in tow. Slash. Character Death. Minato/Harry, Obito/Rin
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own Harry Potter, Naruto or any affiliates. All spells, characters and Jutsus original to me will be listed at the bottom of the chapter._

* * *

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter One**

* * *

_It was raining._

_The cast-iron sky dark and forbidding, no lightning, no thunder, just the constant hammering of frigid cold water falling in sheets across the silent sombre world around them._

_The ground had been churned up, slashed and scorched, now it drowned, the red stain diluted and fading, running down into the grass... tainting the ground._

_Bodies littered the ground, motionless, peaceful, as if in mockery of discarded rubbish, of sleep and silence._

_The only sound in this desolate place was the rain as it lashed the world with its sorrow and the hacking cough of the one beside him._

"Its over."

"Yeah."

"... ... ... Good."

"Yeah..."

* * *

Nara Shikaku eyed the young animal in front of him sceptically.

It was a handsome beast, smaller than the other Deer he and his family cared for, but there was an undeniable spark of intelligence in those dark eyes, his rack of antlers was larger too, setting him apart from the other Stags as a separate subspecies, or just an unusual runt.

The Head of the Nara Clan had been sat in his favourite Dango bar with Chouza and Inoichi enjoying their brief downtime between missions with a cup of plum wine, some Yakitori sticks and Dango when Inoichi's girlfriend Hanako came in and told him that one of his Deer had gotten into the streets and was nosing around. Muttering about troublesome animals, he had of course gone to rescue the lost animal, only to find it in the Academy playground – having been lead there by some of the younger students with promises of sweets. Young Iruka-kun had been feeding the small Stag small hard peppermint sweet treats something which the Deer seemed to like as it kept nosing at him for more, much to the little boy's delight as he actually tried to lead it into the school.

When Shikaku had shown up, the boy had been terrified, obviously recognising him as one of the Nara clan and foolishly thought he would get in trouble for playing with the animal. Shikaku had been expecting that, some of the more unpleasant Genin and Chuunin had been given undeserved Promotions in preparation for the upcoming war against Iwa, a number of those had decided to lord their new status over the others and act in such a troublesome manner even sweet Chouza almost broke the law and put them in the hospital. What he hadn't been expecting as the small Stag to jump in front of the boy and lower its head, snorting and pawing at the ground, shoulder muscles tense and rippling as he swung his head and jutted those deadly looking horns in his direction.

"Troublesome." Shikaku could only mutter, slouching in place, hands stuffed into his pockets, eyeing the animal lazily, making sure not to make any threatening movements – it had the biggest set of antlers he'd ever seen. "Oi, Gaki." He grunted to the child, Iruka he reminded himself, who jolted and stared at him with wide eyes, "Call him off. It's too troublesome to deal with angry animals. You ain't in trouble." He explained to the six-year-old.

Iruka bit his lip, still wary of the scarred Jounin but stepped forward and ran a hand down the Stag's back, the animal twisted to nose at him before straightening up, aggressive posture dissolving. Shikaku grumbled and wondered forward, sticking a hand out for the Stag to inspect, he didn't recognise it from the Nara family herds but it had obviously been around people and wasn't a Henge – Inoichi was quite the Genjutsu Adept, hanging around him all the time guaranteed Shikaku the ability to sniff out Henge or Genjutsu with ease.

Waiting until the animal lost interest in him, Shikaku grabbed hold of an Antler and Shunshined them back to the Forest where the Nara Family kept their Deer, leaping back just in time to avoid those horns ramming into what would have been his face had he not jumped away. Shikaku chuckled slightly as the Stag pawed the ground irritably and stamped his cloven hooves, jutting those antlers up at him, as good a threat from a Deer as you could get. Absently the Nara wondered how Juugo, the current Head Stag of the herd, would take to the smaller but nastier new member of his herd.

He considered sticking around to watch the confrontation but then he remembered he'd left his meal unguarded around Chouza and hurried back with speed that would startle anyone else.

Down on the ground, Harry James Potter was wondering just what the fuck had happened and why his mouth tasted like purple.

* * *

When one looked back on the last decade, they would wonder when the turning point in the War against Voldemort was.

Officially, by Ministry reckoning, he returned in early June 1995 – that's what the Ministry said.

Anyone with a brain cell or three remembered in 1994 at the end of the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, one Harry Potter appearing via Portkey clutching at the cold stiff wrist of fellow Champion and Hogwarts student Cedric Diggory saying that Voldemort had returned.

But they still wondered when the turning point was.

Because from the beginning to the end, it looked like Voldemort was _winning_. And then... and then, he just... wasn't.

Hogwarts. It already belonged to him.

But suddenly, he was dead, bleeding out on the front lawns.

In truth, the turning point happened on the same day the Ministry finally admitted the Immortality obsessed Snake Freak was back.

The day Sirius Black died in front of the eyes of his godson.

Out of the Golden Trio, Ron actually noticed the change first, the red headed Weasley watched as his friend grew cold and hard, a dark glint in his eyes that at times frightened him and other times comforted him, because he knew what it meant. It meant Harry wasn't going to let anyone else die, especially not for him. Hermione hadn't noticed. She saw what she expected to see, a quiet, depressed Harry with vengeance on his mind, she didn't see the determination to get said revenge, she didn't see the single minded dedication to never allow someone to die for him again.

When Harry went home that Summer, the one time Vernon thought he could get away with cuffing the boy upside the head, Harry had broken three of his fingers and scared him into pissing on himself.

When he returned to Hogwarts, everyone noticed the difference, he quit the Quidditch Team, nothing any of them did or said could change his mind and if anyone tried more than once they were treated to a long flat green stare that eventually silenced them. He ignored all invitations to the '**Slug Club**' and spent every free moment in the Room of Requirements, more than a few people stuck their heads in to see what he was up to, only a few were treated to the sight of the Boy Hero, swords-scythes-knives-staves-needles-whatever the hell else you could imagine in hand practicing. Other times it was wand magic, sometimes potions, the only thing anyone could say was that he was taking the threat of Voldemort much more seriously than the Ministry who were practically _handing_ the country over to him.

No one realised just how _much_ he had improved during that one year of extremely intensive study, but they found out at the end of the year when the Death Eaters stormed the castle, and Dumbledore was murdered. Or so everyone thought. Snape had spoken the words '_Avada Kedavra_' but cast a simple Cleaning spell with a familiar sickly green light, Dumbledore himself was the one who toppled off the roof and cancelled the binding on Harry before levitating himself down onto the ground. The final piece-de-resistance was when he dosed himself with Draught of the Living Death and gave Poppy strict orders to preserve his body and hide it.

His funeral was attended by many people, Harry yet again turned down the Minister, perhaps a lot more viciously than he would have had he not wizened up to the world around him and grown fangs and claws. To say Rufus was surprised at the verbal abuse the young wizard spat at him would be an understatement, the fact that he was furious because it was all true and made sense was even more of an understatement. Never the less, it didn't change a thing.

The Ministry was still taken over by Voldemort, Muggleborns were still persecuted, Halfbloods were treated like slaves, the Golden Trio were hunted like animals.

To be honest, both Ron and Hermione were slightly frightened of Harry at this point, it wasn't that he was violent towards them, he'd just grown... quiet. Scarily quiet. And constantly had something sharp and deadly within hand's reach, they had seen him practicing with a pair of steel-bladed fans that Hermione recognised as Tessen – Japanese battle fans – and watched as he went through a string of movements slowly and gracefully, almost lazily, before he went through them a second time, much _faster_.

The so called Final Battle of Hogwarts.... wasn't much of a battle to be honest.

After being 'Killed' by Voldemort, Harry had quite calmly gotten to his feet, pulled a small knife from a hidden pocket in his clothing and rammed it through the back of his neck. The greatest Dark Lord seen for over fifty years, taken out with a pocket knife only four inches long, because he was stupid and turned his back on someone he thought was dead.

He wouldn't be making that mistake again.

The parties that raged up and down the country were another matter, Death Eaters were publicly dragged out and cursed until the Aurors decided that they should step in and feed the Dementors. Ginny attempted to throw herself bodily at Harry's crotch only for the green eyed male to calmly tell her that the Love Potions had worn off and she had better look else where for attention because if she drugged him again he would bring it to the attention of the Ministry.

Ginny hadn't spoken to him since. Molly kept trying to get them to get back together. Ron joined up with the Aurors. Hermione decided to become a teacher, Arithmancy or Muggle Studies, she wasn't too sure which she should take up. Fred and George were still running their jokeshop, now with help from Luna. Neville had joined an exclusive Herbology Society and was doing well from what Harry had heard.

As for Harry himself...... He joined the Ministry's Department of Mysteries.

Which lead to his current position, in the middle of 'Fire Country' in his Animagus form, mouth tasting of purple and wondering if he could learn that method of Apparation – as he was still hopeless at the regular kind, landed on his ass every time he reappeared.

Harry James Potter, Code named '**Swift**', grumbled bitterly in his mind before wondering through the forest to find a good place to set up a 'Safe' zone where he could change back into a human form every once in a while.

At 22-years-old, Harry was the youngest of the group sent to the Hidden Countries but by no means the least skilled; he was, in fact, their Team Captain. He would never be an incredibly tall individual, 5'4" was his height limit, only marginally taller than Fiona Dyre who stood at a depressing (for her) 5'1" in height, he wasn't a muscle-bound powerhouse, his poor childhood at the hands of the Dursleys had ensured that, he had muscle but it was born more from use and life-threatening fights, he was more a creature of speed than strength, his body was slender and his clothing mostly muggle under his robes, skin pale making his eyes, which were now stained a dark _Avada Kedavra_ and marbled emerald green with twenty-twenty vision and inky black quill-like hair stand out all the more. He carried himself differently from the uncertain teenager who took down the Dark Lord, his posture straight and perfectly balanced, prepared to move at an instant, the war had left its mark on him and it was obvious to all who had an idea of what to look for. That and the small arsenal of pointy stabbity stab weapons he kept on his person bespoke paranoia of Alastor Moody levels – then again, it wasn't paranoia if they really _were_ out to get you and his fangirls most certainly were.

Finding a good place in the hallow of a fallen tree log, Harry changed back into his human form, rubbing a bit at his neck as that feeling of being too top-heavy vanished. That done, he whipped out his wand – the Ebony one – and worked at Warding the small hallow, a scent vanishing charm, a sound concealment, a Notice Me Not and a few others. He made the wards light anything heavier and it would register on the senses of the people here, after seeing small children cast illusions with puffs of smoke and no wands he didn't want to take a chance that they could find the hallow. Once inside, he carefully set a small Wind Breaker under the log and stuck it in place with Sticking Charms, it was a normal Wind Breaker, nothing special but it was waterproof with a large number of pockets with enchantments on them. Crawling inside Harry peeled off a fair number of his weapons and put them in one large pocket – a small white label attached to it reading '**WEAPONRY**' in bold text – and then reached into one of the other pockets reading '**POTIONS**' withdrawing a small crystal bottle of a plum purple colour.

"Blegh, nutrient potions." He muttered in dislike before necking the thing. Ditching a few other things in the wind breaker he crawled out, changed shape into Hart – his Animagus form – and decided to go about exploring the area.

* * *

_Knife edged green eyes regarded the individuals in front of him._

_Elizabeth Beaumont, aged 38, a beautiful Muggleborn woman who had been engaged before discovering her Pureblood Husband was a bit more interested in his first cousin – Robert – than her. She was a curvy woman with curly chocolate brown hair that hung down her back; her skin was a warm pale tan colour, her features patterned with freckles and warm dark green eyes. She was the maternal type but fun-loving, a lot more laid back than Molly Weasley was capable of but looking at her records was more than enough for anyone to respect her. Her Animagus form was a Red crested Crane, non magical, she had a mastery in Potions, Healing, Duelling and Charms, they code named her '__**Pegasus**__'._

_Felix Dolohov, aged 27, he was the estranged son of the Death Eater Antonin Dolohov. The man was short with thick dark blonde hair that hung to his shoulders when loose, his mismatched eyes were blue and green with a small Spell Burn at the corner of his green eye – denoting that he had not been born with mismatched eyes. His skin was pale and unmarked save for a few Spell Burns here and there, no doubt the product of his childhood under a Pureblood Fanatic trying to force a toddler into the perfect mould for the Dark Lord. He was a viciously sarcastic bitter little thing, a lot like Severus Snape in that respect but a lot more agreeable and likeable, he actually possessed a sense of humour and professionalism unlike the bitter Potions' Master. His Animagus form was that of a Peregrine Falcon, also non magical, he held a Mastery in Transfiguration, Tracking, Stealth, Weaponry and Battle Magic – someone you didn't want to fuck around with. His Code name ended up being '__**Hunter**__'._

_Evander Slater – he preferred being known as Van, aged 25, a timid half-blood who was quite shy but outgoing all the same. He was laidback, preferring the path of least resistance, but a hard worker, his hair was a dark reddish/brown colour, his fringe was surprisingly long, hanging down to frame his face while the rest of his hair was cut close and spiky – his sister had attacked him while he had been sleeping, resulting in the unusual hair cut that oddly suited him – his skin was pale but he was prone to blushing easily, he had dark blue eyes and was fairly average in height. His Animagus was a tiny Field Mouse, non magical and perfect for spying, he held Masteries in Duelling, Battle Magic, Weaponry, Stealth, Charms and Healing. His Code name was '__**Whiskers**__'._

_Fiona Dyre, aged 25, a happy bubbly girl of Muggleborn origins, she was fairly high profile in the muggle world having been the Olympics Gold Medallist in Gymnastics at their last showing, she had short unruly pale gold hair and bright – almost giddy – greenish blue eyes that peeked out from a pale face. She was the smallest in the group only just coming up to his nose, but her body was lean and fit and she could probably kill him with her legs alone. Her Animagus form was that of a Snow Hare, non magical, and she held Masteries in Battle Magic, Unarmed Combat, Duelling, Transfiguration and Charms. Her Code name was '__**Pickles**__' – regardless of the fact it was actually a childhood nickname that stuck to this day._

_And lastly in the line up was Toru Inoue, aged 27, the tallest of the group with dark cropped black hair, tanned skin stretching over distinctly Asian features and dark eyes. He was a quiet man who didn't socialise much; he was a master of martial arts and self defence though and was loyal to those he worked with. His Animagus form was that of a Fox, non magical, he possessed Masteries in Transfiguration, Charms, Duelling, Battle Magic, Unarmed Combat, Weaponry and Care of Magical Creatures. His Code name was '__**Brush**__'._

_Harry James Potter, Code named '__**Swift**__', nodded to himself, pleased with the selection._

"_Alright, for those of you not in the know, the reason you all have been gathered here today is because we have been given a high priority mission." The green eyed man explained, looking over the assorted individuals seriously from his place sat on the desk in front of them. Reaching behind him the 22-year-old pulled out a small stack of papers which he then handed out to them, "Over the last couple of decades there has been a number of worrying bursts of small but concentrated Demonic Energy from within the Reserve. Questions can wait until the end." He added seeing the way Toru and Fiona had given him perplexed looks. "We will be taking a year to investigate these incidences_ personally_. You all have been chosen because not only are your Animagus forms non-magical and largely unobtrusive, but because all of you have knowledge of what to look for when it comes to Demonic Energy, and if need be, defend yourselves from it._

"_The information I have just handed you depicts the areas and general politics within the Reserve from the last group that went in during 1986. The information is no doubt a little out of date but considering the recent upheavals we ourselves have been experiencing I hardly think we can be too surprised. Ergo, I want you to be extra vigilant and even more cautious." Harry explained watching as the group read through their papers carefully, "You can finish studying them at a later point. You have two weeks to get your affairs in order and prepare for a year long recon mission in hostile territory; you will be spending the majority of your time in Animagus form so I would suggest taking a _large _number of nutrient potions. Maybe a book or two." He added with a small grin, knowing quite well how boring recon missions could be._

"_**Brush**_ _you'll be handling Earth Country – Tsuchi, they have a military village there by the name of Iwagakure no Sato who possess controlling influence of the country. I would suggest keeping your attention on that location._

"_**Pickles**_ _you'll be in Water Country – Mizu, their Military Village is known as Kirigakure no Sato, they're known to be somewhat more violent than other areas so discretion is paramount, if you're in danger in the slightest part. Don't hesitate. I want you to break cover and Apparate back to the Entry Way. No argument._

"_**Whiskers**_ _you'll be on our six, guarding the Entry Way, if one of us is compromised and information on the Entry is disclosed it will be your job to prevent any of the Descendents from leaving._

"_**Pegasus**_ _you'll be handling Lightning Country – Rai, their military village is known as Kumogakure no Sato, it's largely a rocky area with large amounts of water and dense cloud cover which is why I chose you for the area. We've detected a number of bursts from that area so I want you to be extra careful. Same to you __**Brush**__, Iwa has had a number of Demonic Energy flares as well._

"_Lastly, __**Hunter**_ _you'll be handling Wind Country – Kaze, their military power, Sunagakure no Sato, is slightly smaller but they are hardier and use falcons and hawks as messengers rather than humans due to the treacherous nature of the desert. We have had some Demonic Energy flows from there but its erratic so I want you to be on your guard, reports say that the soon to be Yondaime Kazekage seemed to be a nasty piece of work. If it looks like you're going to be caught, I want you to do the same as __**Pickles**_ _and get the hell out. Same for all of you. If it looks like your cover is about to be blown get the hell out of dodge, I don't want any dead operatives or any Descendents running around Outside."_

"_And most importantly: Don't die."_**End Chapter One.**

* * *

**Now. I started this in Early December '08, however, I've recently become somewhat anal regarding updates, I don't even POST a story until I have at least 12 chapters waiting in the wings to be posted. **

You'd better believe Van, Elizabeth, Fiona, Felix and Toru are mine.

* * *

**21/05/2010: Editing in Page breaks because FFnet is a wh0r.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Harry had been in the Land of Fire – otherwise known as Hi no Kuni (He had always picked up languages quickly and Japanese was no different) – and in specifically Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, for just over six months.

It had been tough at first, little to no contact, stuck in his Animagus form all the time, the mind numbing boredom, the quite frankly nasty taste of grass and tree bark. The only bright point was when he escaped the herd and wondered into the Village, he'd become something of a common sight and a Village wide pet if the way the children would flock to him whenever he wondered down the street. He had to admit it was fun when he did go into town, he remembered one time when he'd run across a newly minted Chuunin bullying a Civilian girl who was trying to get on with her chores, she had been terrified and he had then proceeded to knock the pretentious brat down and stomp on him before grabbing at the girl's yukata – keeping his head low so he didn't end up forcibly flashing her to the rest of the street – and pulled her into the main street out of the alley way. She called him her little hero and fed him those peppermint sweets he really liked.

He still remembered the first time he ran into little Rin, she was a sweet girl, only just graduated from the Academy, she'd been placed on the same Team as that Uchiha boy who was determined to help anyone who asked it of him, to dispel the harsh and cruel reputation his Clan had acquired as being snobby malicious bastards, and the son of the White Fang the one who was supposedly responsible for the War. Harry remembered following the girl to her Team meeting after she'd paused to give him some peppermint sweets, he could smell that she had some more and even though he hated bothering her, his cover was that of an animal and they didn't pay attention to such things.

Harry couldn't help but smirk at the memory of knocking that arrogant little white haired brat down and chewing on his hair after he had made those horribly insulting remarks to the boy, Obito. Their teacher had laughed himself sick at the scene when he saw it, Rin blushing horribly in embarrassment but unable to stop giggling, Obito rolling on the floor laughing while Kakashi was stuck under one of the Nara Deer who had decided he made a comfortable bed and started to groom the mane of silvery white hair.

Harry had to admit, he did enjoy the way Team Minato came together, even if Kakashi at times irritated him – he had yet to be able to replicate the pinning and 'grooming' incident, he'd tried, but failed. Everyone else found his attempts funny, but as patient as their teacher was he had put his foot down and ushered him off else where so the kids could train – Harry had decided to get him as well, he had yet to succeed in doing more than steal his headband which garnered a few laughs but he hadn't put up any fuss about returning it. It was just for shits and giggles after all.

During this time they had managed to gather substantial information regarding the Demonic Bursts of Energy, they were called '**Jinchuuriki**'. Humans who had Demons Sealed within their Souls, using their bodies as living prisons.

_Horcrux_. For Demons.

Iwa had two: The Yonbi and the Gobi.

Kumo had two: The Nibi and the Hachibi.

Kiri had one: The Sanbi.

Taki had one: The Shichibi.

The Rokubi was Sealed, but they hadn't yet gotten a fix on that one, they didn't know which village had the Demon, but it was a safe bet that since the creature used Bubble and Water based power that it would probably be close to the ocean or a substantial water supply. Ame, or Nami or even Umi were possibilities.

Shukaku, the Ichibi, was currently Sealed in a large Teapot according to Felix, though Teapot was probably a bit demeaning when one thought of the blonde Pureblood. He seemed to take perverse enjoyment out of reading all the top secret information he was ordered to carry across the boarders, Harry couldn't help but smirk over the fact he'd chosen his Team well.

And lastly the Kyuubi... neither hide nor hair of the most powerful of the Nine had been seen.

What was more, his superiors in the Ministry wanted him to keep a close eye on the war that had broken out between Konohagakure no Sato and Iwagakure no Sato. They'd pulled little Van away from his position on their six at the ruins of what the people here called Uzugakure no Sato and placed him at Kusa, a throughway for Iwa and Konoha. Both he, Toru and Harry were to gather information on the two Iwa Jinchuuriki.

Harry sighed as he wondered towards the Hokage tower, honestly, his superiors were so goddamn nosy! He huffed slightly and found a good patch of grass not too far away from the entrance, ears perked to catch any information that the Stiffs at home may find interesting. Honestly, Old Man Croaker actually seemed _pleased_ about the war, pleased that there were children the same age as Hogwarts Firsties going up against trained assassins and murderers and literally getting _torn_ apart.

Needless to say, the Animagus wasn't too happy with the increasingly young age these children were being thrown into combat – life threatening combat!

Against his will, the mental images of Fluffy, the Troll, Voldemort in Quirrel's head, the Basilisk, Dementors, Acromantula, Remus during _that_ time of the month and the myriad of other life threatening incidences Harry himself had been put through before his 14th birthday. '_And they have more training than you did_.' A traitorous little voice hissed in his mind, making him grimace as best a Deer could as it silenced the growing discontent and bitterness at the thought of those Genin being sent out to the front lines already.

That harsh little voice in his head – which disturbingly enough sounded like Felix and Hermione blended into one – was right. Survival of the fittest as the Falcon Animagus would say. These children had been trained from a young age to fight, to kill, to protect their home village via any means necessary. It turned his stomach to think about it, the thought of little Ruka-kun coming home one day splashed with _someone else's_ blood, or Anko-chan curled up in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest crying her eyes out after an infiltration mission that went too far – shredding her innocence. The stag tossed his head angrily, startling some anxious Genin near-by, the three instantly had Kunai out, scanning their surroundings warily before relaxing as Harry yet again bent to start cropping on the short grass.

Harry paused in his eating when he caught the scent of Minato-san, the blonde was leaving the Mission office, papers in hand a small frown settled on his features that immediately set alarm bells ringing in Harry's head. The stag's ears flickered, along with his tail as he trailed over to the man, judging from the glance he sent him he wasn't in the mood to deal with any of Harry's usual antics so the stag just walked along beside him much to the Jounin's bemusement. A few people stopped to point and giggle but otherwise they were allowed to carry on unhindered – more than a few people had noticed the deer seemed to hang around with the children more than the adults; ergo he often followed around the teachers as well. Inuzuka Tsume had given him a rather embarrassing full body examination to make sure he really was a Deer and not some kind of Nin Animal, he passed with flying colours and now Shikaku was planning on trying to breed a line of extra-ordinarily intelligent animals from him. Harry would have to turn down the amorous advances of various Does, because, to be honest, he had no interest in bestiality.

Harry huffed in boredom, the stag arched his head spotting Shikaku and shook his antlers irritably at him, the Nara just had the gall to snigger at him, Harry whipped his head to look at Minato-san when the blonde laughed as well. In retaliation he tugged at the blonde's ridiculously long sideburns making him yelp in an undignified fashion, as well as give Harry a glimpse of his Mission orders, a hand against his nose shoved him off and the stag sniffed, stalking off regally, tail lifted arrogantly to the amusement of anyone watching the Yellow Flash getting snubbed by a deer.

Minato sighed rubbing at the side of his head, "I'm never going to live that down." He muttered, glancing upwards to where Shikaku was laughing into the recently arrived Chouza's shoulder.

The Jounin sighed and Shunshin'ed away from the scene of his humiliation, brushing the animal's odd behaviour off as another Deer thing, absently he wondered if the creature even had a name. Ah he'd think about it some other time he decided as he flopped back on a large stone to wait for his Team to arrive, taking the time to look over his Mission papers as he did so.

Harry however, was already in his wind-breaker combing through reports he'd received from Van up in Kusa and Toru in Iwa.

Toru's reports claimed that the very bridge Team Minato were assigned to destroy was on the boarder of Kusa and Iwa, it was a supply run to the front lines which split Kusa just about perfectly in the middle on the map. Iwa were keeping it suspiciously open for attack even though it was a vital strategic position, Van reported that he'd seen one of the Jinchuuriki in the area, the Yonbi in an old man by the name of Roushi – an honourable old guy who wore red samurai armour and combined both fire and earth style Ninjutsu to create rivers of lava. Harry did _not_ like the sound of that, even more so when he remembered that little Rin and Obito were going to be the ones taking part in this mission.

Van had reported that were was an unusually large amount of Scouting groups in the area as well, he was having to spend more and more time inside his Safe Zone and even then it was risky because a Ninja could always accidentally jump in and land on them.

Harry chewed his bottom lip, he had an incredibly _**BAD**_ feeling about this, almost as bad as the one he had about his stupid rescue attempt in fifth year – only then he had been too panicked to pay attention to the BAD ROAD vibes that were being crammed into his stomach. Now he knew what to feel and he was getting paranoid again, the dark haired man pursed his lips decisively, better safe than sorry.

Harry gathered up his things, storing them correctly, climbed out of his windbreaker and dismantled it, shrinking it and sticking it in his pocket, he kept himself as unencumbered as possible as he didn't have the foggiest of what may happen. Unravelling the wards around his Safe Zone the green eyed male Apparated to the border of Kusa, he knew it would be a few hours before Team Twelve arrived – even when the Yellow Flash was going all out it still would have been at least another fifteen minutes before he arrived.

Downing the nutrient potion in his pocket, Harry ignored the foul taste and conjured himself some water to wash it down and changed his form again.

Bounding forward, Harry streaked his way through the trees, pausing briefly, looking around suspiciously when he sensed some people near by, trumpet-like ears twisting and turning as he licked at his dry nose, a faint whispered '_kai_' caught his attention and he swung his head suspiciously in that direction. Silence. But he could sense that they had dismissed him as a non-threat, just another wild animal, cautiously taking a step forward, and another and then another, soon Harry was calmly walking his way under the trees. Pausing to graze every now and again to keep up appearances and generally acting like any kind of wild animal.

Inwardly, he was itching in frustration, he needed to see Van immediately, if his gut feeling was right, then Harry would need to know everything as he possibly could about the terrain, the jutsus these Iwa Shinobi use and permission to use his Safe Zone as a makeshift medic bay if need be.

He found the brunet's safe zone soon enough, these bamboo poles were massive, the youth had turned one into his Safe zone as they were hallow, it even had two floors because he had carefully carved a hole in the roof so as to allow him a way to climb up. It was quite comfortable and Harry was intensely jealous to be honest.

"Harry." The brunet greeted, blue eyes serious as his Team Captain came him, they had both lost a lot of weight but the nutrient potions had kept them alive – after all, while they didn't change back much, they still had to change back at least once a week to make their Report, the food didn't change back, leaving them with grass or bark or in Van's case various little seeds and fruit.

"Hey Van. How are you holding up?" He asked accepting the conjured cup of tea – it would vanish after a while but the taste was heavenly, he hadn't thought he would miss a decent cup of tea quite so much during this Mission.

"Poorly." The brunet admitted quietly with a wry grin, "I'm finding it difficult to remain in my human form now a days, conjured food has been taking the edge of the weakness and the Nutrient potions have been keeping me for this long but I don't think I'm going to be able to stay for the conclusion of the conflict. Yourself?"

"It's been easier than you I'm sure. Through the tree bark has left for some uncomfortable bowl movements." He admitted, trying to inject a little humour in the dark atmosphere lingering around them. He knew he was successful when the Mouse Animagus went red and started to snigger at his expense.

Van was about to make a snappy statement when the sound of someone passing by made the two of them freeze and fall into silence, the enchantments Van had woven into the wood of the bamboo gave them a kind of window that allowed the two of them to see the Iwa Scout stood right outside their safe haven. Looking around suspiciously as if he had heard them.

The two of them stood in silence, watching the Ninja with bated breath, not moving a single muscle as he looked around carefully before grunting irritably to himself and leaping away, the two of them didn't move for another five minutes, just to make sure he really was gone before relaxing.

"Look Captain, I don't know why you're here but I get the feeling it's not a social call. What do you want?" It was a sign of how bad the brunet was feeling that he was being so short with him, usually the other man was almost as shy and timid as his Animagus form, right now though, tiredness and hunger had wiped that from his psyche, leaving someone with a sharp tongue and vicious capacity to use it. Harry had seen it before, you didn't want Elizabeth to lose her temper but Van made her seem like a walk in the park – save when he was with Tobias, then he kind of got shouty and spazzy much to everyone's amusement, it was actually rather cute in Harry's opinion and he knew the blue eyed male would be feeling the separation keenly. Tobias was going to hurt Harry when he returned, the green eyed 22-year-old could just _tell_.

"You're right. I have a bad feeling. One of the Konoha Teams that I've taken an interest in has a mission to destroy the supply bridge for Iwa, it reeks of a trap to me given the information you've handed to me earlier. I'm concerned, this Team not only has an Uchiha but also the last of the Hatakes' and someone whom I believe may become the next Hokage. Someone we'd _like_ to become the next Hokage. The guy currently in-line reminds me too much of Voldemort for me to let him just take control of a military power." The green eyed youth complained, a frown settled firmly on his features.

Van nodded, gesturing for him to follow as he led the other man up to the second portion of his base and then to sit down on his unrolled Futon, the brunet sitting at the other end and dragging his backpack over they were sat in his wind breaker and Harry was quite surprised by just how much room there was and how solid the floor was, he could understand why some people made ships/rafts out of this stuff.

"This is the general movement pattern of the Iwa Nin over the last few days since my last report. I've also tagged the Jinchuuriki with a tracking Charm, he's abandoned Iwagakure no Sato, I just got Toru's message literally an hour before you arrived. He's currently in Taki, heading east." The mouse explained pushing the map with a small four pronged star moving across it towards Harry's right hand.

Harry nodded and looked over the Soldier movements, his eyes drinking in the information.

* * *

Loud explosions startled the two awake.

At some point both of them had succumbed to the exhaustion that pervaded their limbs from having to spend most of their time switching backwards and forwards between their Animagus forms and fallen asleep curled up together for warmth in the thin wind breaker.

Harry, who slept in the quiet Nara grounds, was jarred awake violently by the sound while Van groaned and pushed himself upright, glowering at the illusionary window. "We slept all night and over half the day." He noted morosely, Harry however, was more concerned with the bad feeling in his gut as he felt the ground tremble and shake.

"I think that's my bad feeling coming into fruition." He admitted dryly before vaulting out of the small windbreaker and down the lower level, "I'm going to investigate, if you don't hear from me in two days, consider me compromised and get the hell out." He told the other male sternly as he bolted out of the bamboo stalk, ignoring the older male's shout for him to wait as he ran a Disillusionment Charm over himself.

Harry was no Ninja, but the battle was close by and _loud_. He could hardly miss it.

The 22-year-old skidded to a stop, panting hard as he scanned the scene with a practiced eye, Kakashi knelt in front of a gaping chasm in the ground, Iwa Scouts rapidly converging on their position, he looked exhausted. Rin and Obito must have been in the hole; the Unspeakable channelled some magic into his ears to sharpen his hearing and could hear Obito rasping to the other two, the blood draining from Harry's features as he heard what was being said.

They weren't really going to leave him in there, were they?

The Iwa scouts hit the ground, two of them making rapid fire seals.

Kakashi shouting at Rin to grab his hand.

Harry's eyes widened as the young Jounin wrenched his female teammate up, even as the rocks and earth around them fell _in_.

He bolted.

Harry ran as hard and as fast as he could, eyes narrowed on that small opening, would he make it? Could he help Obito even if he did?

The reek of blood filled his nostrils as he brushed past Rin and flung himself down the hole, ignoring the rocks that scraped his sides and arms as he reached for the black haired 12-year-old. Fingers knotting in his clothing snarling at the empty feeling he got from the boy's body.

'_**You Will Not Have This One! It Is Not His Time Yet!**_' He snarled furiously in his mind as he forced Magic into the boy, feeling out every millimetre and hair on his body as he _SHIFTED_ them.

The crack of their apparation drowned out as stone finally crashed down into the small hallow, burying it forever, along with what Kakashi and Rin thought was their Teammate.

* * *

"_.....don't think – make – going to be – _

"_Try – broken bone – shattered – _

"_Medical – Mungos – watch the – tell – send some – food – _

"_.....course – proper – house elf – store – crappy ramen – think he'll –_

"_Old man Croaker – Shit we're –_

"_Get him – Mungos – Harry."_

Darkness claimed Obito.

* * *

**Chapter two done! Oh gods you guys have no idea how hard it was trying to write this one. XDDD**

I want a hidy-house in a big ass Bamboo sprout. It sounds cool. D:

Tobias doesn't belong to me. I know he hasn't made an appearance but he has been mentioned. He isn't mine. He belongs to my bestfriend Asaka Kiseragi, she created him specifically for my use in a comic I'm writing, but where Van goes, so does Tobias. Because they come in pairs. 8D

* * *

**21/05/2010: Just editing in page breaks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Uchiha Obito hoped he was dead.

He hoped to hell he was dead. Because if he wasn't dead, that meant that he had been captured by Iwa.

Iwa who would do everything in their power to obtain the power of the Sharingan and use it against his beloved home Konoha, Iwa who would torture information about Minato-sensei out of him, Iwa who would lock him in a small dark box for the rest of his natural life – only letting him out long enough to fuck another Sharingan breeding mare.

So he hoped, and he prayed, and he begged, that he was dead.

"How is he?" asked a female voice.

"Better. He woke up not too long ago but passed out again. I'm glad he's alright but it's going to take a long time before he's ready to go back to Konoha." A male voice this time, Obito tried to fight off the onslaught of emotions, he _was_ captured but they weren't Iwa, and they didn't know about the Sharingan. They were going to send him home. Or it could have been a trap. Hope plummeted and turned sour in his stomach.

"Poor kid." The woman spoke again, "As for you! When was the last time you ate something that wasn't grass or tree bark?" she sounded _scary_ kind of like Aunty Mikoto when she found Uncle Fugaku drunk on the porch that one evening.

"Uhmmm..... Seven months I think. I dunno. And don't you even try to drag me off Natalie. Obito may wake up at any moment and considering what Van told me about Iwa he may do something stupid like commit suicide just to avoid whatever it is they may have had cooked up for an Uchiha."

Oh snap. He knew. But... Again, it could be a lie, but he sounded genuine about caring for him.

'Natalie' sighed heavily, "Alright Harry. I'll bring you something to eat from the Staff Cafeteria, if only because I know you're not going to leave him." The woman left, the sound of her shoes fading away as the door clicked shut.

"You can stop pretending to sleep now."

Obito's heart clenched.

"Calm down kiddo. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise, you have my word."

Carefully, Obito cracked open his one good eye, coincidentally the one that had his mysterious visitor within clear seeing range – obviously something he had done on purpose to make him feel more at ease. The Uchiha blinked, staring at him in shock, they could have been cousins or brothers!

This 'Harry' wasn't tall, probably about 160-170cm in height, he had a very slender build, kind of like Minato-sensei but without the muscle mass that all Shinobi had, his skin was unusually pale and his hair black as night, long and hanging to his shoulders in an unruly mess that would make any Uchiha alternatively proud and shameful for reasons unknown and unfathomable to anyone else. But it was his eyes and the warm expression on his face that threw the 'Disgrace of the Uchiha Clan' through a loop, those green eyes looked a lot like the leaves and greenery around Konoha mixed with something else, a kind of cat-like inner light. It was creepy, also, at the same time, incredibly cool. He was dressed in civilian clothes without a single Village affiliation in sight, making him a little uneasy, was he still in Kusa? Or was he somewhere else?

"Wh-where...?" He rasped before pausing and scowling, the green eyed man smiled and poured him a glass of water, digging around in the draw attached to the table he pulled out a straw from a packet and placed it beside Obito's head.

He gave it a dubious look and then shot 'Harry' a flat glower, a dark eyebrow quirked and he drank from the glass himself to prove there was nothing wrong before offering it again. This time, Obito was a lot more accepting and drank as much as he could before 'Harry' forcibly took it away.

"Drink too quickly after this long on an empty stomach and you'll make yourself sick Obito-san." He admonished gently.

"H-how do you know who I am?" The 12-year-old asked warily, his voice still a bit rough but much better now thanks to the water. He shook his head, a more worrying thought cropping up, "Forget that! Rin! Kakashi! What happened to them are they alright? Did they get away?" The Uchiha 'loser' demanded leaning forward desperately only to grunt and fall back as pain flared across his crushed body.

Gentle hands fluttered across him, carefully pushing him back against the pillows, brushing hair from his face and pulling his blankets up, a single obsidian eye peeked open to stare at 'Harry' as he fussed over him, chewing his lower lip in concern before he sat down again.

"You need to be careful Obito-san. Your injuries were severe. The entire right side of your body was crushed and your left eye surgically removed before I could get to you. I'm sorry Obito-kun. Never the less, you _have_ to take it easy. You've been in a coma for the last three weeks while the Healers regrew most of your skeletal structure and repaired the damage done to your nervous system and brain; there was significant shredding and lacerations to your brain Obito-kun. You're lucky you woke up at all."

The Uchiha's single eye widened in alarm at the idea that he wouldn't have woken up at all, "What about Kakashi and Rin?" He repeated quietly.

Harry shook his head, "I don't know. I grabbed you and got you to Medical Help as fast as I could, you had actually died when I grabbed you. We were able to bring you back after five minutes but that's still a _long_ time to be dead."

Obito stared at him in horror, "I – I died?"

"Just a little." The green eyed man assured, "No harm done. I've died at least three times (I think) and I'm perfectly fine, minus a certain amount of sanity though." He added with a wry smirk on his face, looking away from the Uchiha a faint blush of embarrassment on his features.

"You think?" The young Chuunin asked weakly in disbelief.

"Well, first time I was about 15-months old. Then there was the Basilisk in Second Year. Uhm... there was that poison in sixth – nah I survived that... Seventh year, died then. Of course I got right back up and stabbed the fucker in the back of the neck with a knife but I still died." The green eyed man rubbed at his chin thoughtfully, ignoring the look on Obito's face, "Ooh there was that time when I got shot from behind. So technically four times. See? You'll be fine." He assured the Chuunin with a grin.

Obito stared at him before snorting, ignoring how much it hurt to do so, "Anyone ever told you you're _completely_ insane?" He asked, eyeing the long haired man.

"Quite often." A woman spoke from the other side of the room, Obito twisted his head to see her and was surprised to see a woman with bright sunshine gold hair and dark blue eyes, he'd only ever seen Minato-sensei with that kind of colouring. She wore a white coat over a set of plain green scrubs that looked a little like pyjamas, her hair was pulled back and she was carrying a large tray. "Hello Obito. I'm Natalie; I've been in charge of your Healing for the past few weeks at special request." The woman explained as she set the tray down on an odd table at the end of his bed, taking a few dishes off and putting them on said table she handed the tray to Harry now.

"Natalie-sensei is the head of the hospital now. She's one of the best Healers in the Country." The green eyed man explained as he picked up a bread roll and tore into it with relish.

"I owed Harry here a favour. Plus, the paperwork's been killing me. It was a welcome change taking care of you Obito." The blonde woman assured him with a warm smile that made him blush slightly as his heart quickened, a pleasant warm squirming sensation developing him his stomach.

Harry caught it and grinned wickedly into his cup of Pumpkin Juice but didn't comment. Natalie wouldn't bring him Staff food anymore.

Obito stared at the food in front of him; he'd never seen anything like THIS before.

"Erm..."

"Baked beans with melted cheese on a jacket potato. Nice." Harry commented, popping something long and pale yellow into his mouth. "It's a bit different to what you're used to I'm sure but it's good. Try it." He suggested pushing a knife and fork over to him, "Use the fork to scoop or stab things you want to eat and the knife to make them smaller. Don't eat off it though. S'considered bad manners to eat off your knife."

"As you learned the hard way hmmm Harry?" Natalie teased good naturedly, making her fellow Gryffindor puff up with a pouty look on his face.

"You weren't even there! How could you have known!" He whined in horror.

Natalie laughed, causing another one of those stomach clenching warm tingles to rush through Obito's body right down to his toes, "You forget I'm friends with Hermione." She reminded him, a wicked glint in her eyes that made Harry groan and chew morosely on a chunk of his bread roll. "Oh cheer up Harry. On the bright side, you're home in time for Teddy's birthday and the birth of Fleur's little girl." She pointed out with a smile.

Harry brightened and smiled, "Yeah."

Obito did as he was told; fumbling awkwardly with his 'fork' as he tried to scoop the yellow stuff into his mouth, chewing experimentally he was stunned to find that it was actually good. And he was starving. The black haired Uchiha dug into his food with gusto, a few mishaps caused a fair amount of food to be lost to the floor and blankets but Natalie spelled them clean while Obito was distracted with trying out his new drink – Pumpkin Juice.

Finished, Natalie collected the tray, giving him another one of those smiles that made his toes curl and his cheeks pink, before leaving the room. Leaving Obito and 'Harry' to eye one another.

"Who are you? I know your name is Hari, but that doesn't tell me anything." Obito asked, scratching absently at his bandages, gods they were itchy. He hated bandages.

"Alright. My name is Potter Harry, I'm 22-years-old, technically Civilian. I am considered a Weapons' Master by my government but by Konoha standards I would be High Chuunin – Low Jounin level in Weaponry and Taijutsu. I do not use Chakra but a different kind of energy in which I would be considered on par with a Kage when using." The green eyed man listed, watching with vague amusement as Obito's eye practically bugged out of his skull, obsidian bleeding into a two-teared Sharingan which looked him over to look for deceit.

The Uchiha shook his head in denial, "T-that's not possible. Kage level I don't believe you." He stated, Harry shrugged a shoulder.

"Believe it or not that is your choice. I've given up trying to force the truth into people's skulls; it just gives me stress migraines." Obito had to repress a grin at those words, that definitely sounded like the Sandaime speaking to Minato-sensei. "Fact of the matter is, I abandoned my mission in Fire Country to save you. Which means you're my responsibility until you're ready to head back; and with the way things are going right now I may just join you as well." He muttered scowling darkly at the far corner.

"What do you mean?" Obito asked, now curious beyond belief.

Harry scowled, "I think that's a story for another time Obito-san. You need to sleep some more. I'll come and see you in the morning, you should be ready for discharge then so I'll need to clean up the house. You'll need some rehabilitation before I can let you return to Konoha, I hope you don't mind dogs." He added with a grin.

Obito nodded dumbly, he liked dogs, he just couldn't stand cats, like the Daimyou's demon feline Tora who kept running away at the slightest chance.

He watched as the other male got to his feet, pushing a book over to him as he did so, "I got this while I was in Konoha. I don't actually know how to read it but it seemed fairly popular from what I saw, I thought you might get bored sitting around." He explained, Obito blinked and then went bright red when he saw the orange cover, "Have you read it before?" The Uchiha looked up, completely mortified at the slightly confused yet completely oblivious expression on the green eyed man's face.

"T-this is a _Pervert_ book Hari-san!" He exclaimed in affronted horror.

"Pervert book? How is that – I mean I saw people walking down the street in broad daylight reading them." The older man pointed out, just not understanding.

Obito shook his head frantically, "Minato-sensei's sensei Jiraiya-sama writes them! He peeks on the womens' bath houses for inspiration! They're pervert books! I- I can't read it! My mother! She'd pull my other eye out and wash it in bleach if she ever found out!" He whimpered in hysterical horror as he scrubbed his only functioning hand through the tufts of black hair visible under his bandages.

"Ah... err, well I guess I could find something for you to read and spell it to read it to you in your own language erm... oh, what was that spell?" He asked frowning as he leaned back in his chair, those kinds of spells were more Hermione's forte than his, he preferred defensive ones that got the job done and the occasional miscellaneous charm or transfiguration used often in pranks in a different way. Toru had always claimed his penchant for over-powering paint stripping charms to peel flesh from bone was really creepy and not a little wrong.

"When do you think I can go home?" Obito asked, distracting him.

"When I say you can handle being an Active Ninja again Obito-san. You're still gravely injured, true we can manipulate energy to levels your best Jutsus could never match, but even so, you need time to heal and rehabilitate." Harry explained with a sad smile, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe. Being the fucking Saviour of the Country has its perks sometimes." He admitted, giving Obito's head a gentle pat, "Natalie will keep you company while I get everything sorted. See you tomorrow."

And with that, he left, Obito stared at the door with mixed feelings but the most dominant of them being Homesickness and Fear.

What if they labelled him a Missing Nin because of this?

* * *

Harry ended up having to argue long, hard and bitterly with both Croaker and the Senior Under Secretary to the Minister over Obito, Croaker wanted to dissect him and examine their Chakra system – after all, Muggles learning how to replicate feats akin to that of magic without actually _using_ magic? It was unheard of and something that they couldn't possibly allow to leak out, there would be mass chaos – the under secretary wanted to interrogate the poor boy about his Village, squeeze him for as much Classified information he had and then possibly insert several Aurors and Politicians into the country to try and subtly take over and redirect its revenue into the Ministry of Magic and then ferret out all the real Magic Users before kicking out all the muggles and turning it into a purely Magic Using Hidden Village.

The green eyed man had eventually had enough and allowed his Magical Aura to unpin itself, the room becoming saturated with power and Killing Intent – a minor, instinctive Genjutsu he had picked up while in the Hidden Countries, KI was actually the first Genjutsu ever created and while Harry could go on about it and the history of Genjutsus for another several hours he decided not to – and told the two in no uncertain terms that Uchiha Obito was under his protection and anyone who laid a finger on him would be boiled from the inside out before their still living and tormented bodies were tossed out for the Dementors to feed on.

They didn't argue.

Getting Natalie to let him take the severely damaged Shinobi back home was an entirely different kettle of fish – fish that had horns and teeth and piercings... and a Loud Voice. So getting her to agree was much more difficult than silencing Croaker and the Minister. She was rather upset with him for even suggesting that he remove Obito from her hospital – but Harry was persistent and did _**not**_ like the idea of the 12-year-old in such a vulnerable state without Harry himself there to protect him from the Ministry's UNSPEAKABLE department. Afterall, he may have been damn _**good**_ at Stealth, but there were individuals there who were far better than he himself at sneaking around – Blaise Zabini, codenamed _**Phantom**_ for his Albino Shadow Bat Animagus form, was one such individual – and not everyone was loyal to him in comparison to Croaker or the Minister.

After _**finally**_ getting Natalie to authorise Obito-kun's release, Harry made his way home to clean up in preparation for the injured Uchiha's arrival – spending a good ten minutes fussing over his animals, mentally thanking Neville and Hermione for taking care of them while he was away.

Unlike most people would think, Harry didn't live in a huge mansion, castle or an apartment larger on the inside than the outside with the best of everything in the middle of London, nor did he move to Godric's Hallow. He had a small cottage in the middle of the Cornish countryside, the Potter family didn't have any properties and the Black Family, while having a lot of mansions and the like, were all saturated in enough Dark Magic to make his skin crawl.

It was a small two floor building, a log-fireplace, old yet comfortable furniture spelled to prevent animal hair from sticking to it, a kitchen, not the best that money could buy but clean and practical, shelves of books and DVDs lined the walls, wooden tables with pictures of his friends and odd knickknacks littered around, upstairs he had two small cosy bedrooms and a simple bathroom, a double bed in his own room with a desk, bookcase, chest-a-draws and wardrobe decorated in pale blue, yellow and white. The other room in a similar style, bedside table, single bed, chest-a-draws and a number of potted plants beside the large wide window decorated in pale yellow, crème and white. The bathroom had a bathtub, a power shower – hot water pounding across your back after a good work out was as close to heaven as Harry had ever found in his life – a toilet which needed a particular way of pulling the handle to actually _flush_ and a sink with a bit of a chipped side. Sure Harry had the money to get the best of everything, but he just didn't want to, this was comfortable and he liked it. It was _home_. In the basement he had his private Potions lab and weapon storage facility.

After airing out each of the rooms to clear the scent of dog and must, Harry took a chance to double check his Charms text-books for that text-translation for Obito. When the Uchiha was feeling a little better, Harry would go about teaching him English, both written and spoken, it was a good thing he had remembered the verbal translation charm for when Natalie spoke otherwise poor Obito would be absolutely beside himself. No where in the Hidden Countries spoke any language other than Japanese – for some reason, considering how the Reserve opened out into the middle of the Atlantic Coast – somewhere off Greenland – you'd think they would speak some form of Icelandic, Polish or even English, but no, it was Japanese, a language over 17 hours away by Muggle plane. Ah well, it wasn't his place to question the oddities of evolution in regards to Magic.

That was Hermione's job.

Gathering a few nonfiction books and several of his favourite fiction ones that would match up with Obito's age group – Lord of the Rings, several Terry Pratchett ones, the Dark Materials trilogy, The Black Angel by John Connolly, the Dragon Rider books by Christopher Paolini, a number of Anne McCaffrey books, the Black Magician Trilogy and a number of others – he copied and charmed them into Japanese before conjuring a small bookcase to put them in.

Taking a nice long hot shower – god he missed hot water and plumbing, he hadn't had a hot shower since he left England – Harry relaxed into his nice cushy mattress and enjoyed the first night he'd had back in his home for the last six and a half months with three dogs sprawled out across his bed.

Tomorrow he would be taking a Ninja home.

* * *

**Chapter finito.**

Araceil

Major update peoples. Black Birds, Lightning on the Wave, Resonance, two new stories, A Mile in Your Eyes – HPNaruto crossover featuring Harry and Sakura as cousins. And Distance – a new take on the whole 'Harry leaves the Wizarding world' gig. Check them out and enjoy the updates 8DD


	4. Chapter 4

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Harry hummed cheerfully as he stirred the contents of the wok in front of him, the scent of coconut and chilli filling the small kitchen.

Uchiha Obito, aged 13, Chuunin of Konohagakure no Sato, had been living with him for about six weeks now, Harry hadn't exactly been one-hundred percent comfortable with the thought that he was sharing his small sanctuary with someone he wasn't familiar with, the fact that Obito was a trained killer had nothing to do with it – Harry had trained half his friends on how to kill so the murderer aspect of his guest didn't worry him in the least, he'd be a hypocrite if it did. It was the fact that only his closest friends and those he considered family had ever set foot inside his little cottage that made him ill-at-ease with the young man's presence. It was like... someone else wearing your dirty undies, embarrassing, a little uncomfortable and it felt almost... akin to that of a violation of his privacy and dignity.

Thankfully, Obito was a good House Guest, even though he was bed bound for most of the first four weeks, his shattered body slowly but steadily rebuilding itself with the help of Natalie's Spell work, Neville and the twin's potions and Harry's magic – fed through a special filter and into Natalie to give her all the power she needed to knit the Uchiha's bones and muscles together along with his pulverised internal organs. Much to Harry's amusement, the Uchiha's crush on the 'fair Doctor McDonald' was also steadily growing, it was so cute, he just _had_ to tease the pre-teen about it. Even bed ridden and with a completely screwed up depth perception, Obito was still a Ninja and Harry had to do some fancy evasive manoeuvres to avoid a black eye from the adventures of Eragon and Saphira in Eldest. Obito hadn't been happy when Harry had stolen the book and purposely lost his page in revenge.

During the time he was practically trapped in Harry's spare room the Uchiha read through the translated fiction books with fascination and glee, the Hidden Countries didn't have much in the way of fiction genres, or fiction at all. He had also taken extremely well to the Japanese Manga that Hermione and Dudley tended to give him, the girl having been a major fan of anything from that side of the world – much to Harry and Ron's surprise when they found out – and Dudley was a fan of the more violent Mangas they had, like Battle Royal, Bleach, Elfin Lied, Tenga Toppin Gurran Lagun, Hellsing and various others. Harry had to admit, the person who wrote Hellsing had their Vamp info pretty accurate but the idea that an Elder Nosferatu like Alucard could be bound to a family like that was beyond the pale, not only would his will power shatter the Magic bonds like they were made of cheap crystal but there was extremely little chance of a human even managing to push a Nosferatu to the point where they would have to reveal their full power just to deal with them. And Harry was going to shut up right now before he kept going down this tangent and burned the dinner he was making because he was too busy daydreaming.

Charlie barked at him, stubby little black tail wagging so hard his backside practically vibrated, Harry chuckled and tossed the eager canine a small strip of beef that was snapped out of the air. The dogs adored Obito, which was a good sign, Charlie especially. He was a scrawny little black and white rescue dog, a mongrel of what Harry hesitantly thought was a Yorkshire Terrier and a spaniel, he'd picked the little bundle of joy out from a rescue Centre in Plymouth having fallen in love with the little guy – who back then had eyebrows so hairy they flopped into his chocolate coloured eyes. He was small but he was also the fastest of the lot in a short run, it was quite funny watching the three race across the fields, Charlie in the lead his stubby little legs practically a blur of movement with Jack and Lady not far behind. Jack was another rescue dog of mixed breed that Harry had picked up, this time from a small clinic in Truro, he was definitely a lot more lively than the other two but he was also the most timid, he was terrified of strangers and took a long time to warm to men, Harry figured he had been abused by his last owner who was a man, it would explain why he barked his head off at any unfamiliar men and always flinched, leaping backwards when they moved. He was a skinny little thing with large brownish red eyes and coarse scruffy fur, he looked to be a Collie mixed with a Terrier with a bit of fox thrown in for kicks, he was a bit of a nut job who loved playing with empty plastic milk bottles. Lady was the bitch of the three, a gorgeous Irish Red Setter he received as a puppy from his at the time boyfriend Viktor Krum, they weren't together anymore but they'd split on friendly terms, each deciding that with Viktor going on his world tour and Harry trapped in the U.K. with his UNSPEAKABLE work that now just wasn't the right time, maybe in the future but not now.

Either way, they loved him, he was fairly sure that Jack was up there with him right now, getting his ears rubbed as the boy reread Volume 16 of Bleach, Harry had a feeling the Gaki was going to start pestering him for lessons in sword fighting if he ever found out Harry was capable of using them. He had certainly improved at trusting Harry since he first arrived and refused to eat unless he'd seen Harry prepare the food or seen the other male eat the exact same thing from the same dish beforehand. Just to make sure it hadn't been drugged or something. Harry didn't mind much, he knew he would have done the exact same thing had he been in Obito's position, thankfully though, he had grown out of that phase and begun to trust Harry.

The green eyed man hummed as he removed the Wok from the stove and began to dish up the food, tomorrow Natalie would be removing the last of the plaster from Obito's legs, giving him mobility again. Enough that he could fight or run at a better level than a Witch or Wizard that hadn't been an active fighter in the War, hopefully meaning he would feel comfortable enough about his chances of survival even if Harry invited some of his friends over. He had been specifically avoiding allowing them in to visit him until Obito was less skittish about the possibility of getting drugged/beaten/raped/interrogated and the like, hopefully that would be now. He really wanted to give Ron and Hermione a damn big hug and then spoil his cute little Godson absolutely rotten when Romie came over with him.

He chuckled slightly, he would have to broach the subject tonight after they'd finished watching Brother Bear – a DVD that Luna bought for him some time ago that Obito thought looked interesting.

* * *

Obito shifted anxiously on the sofa, taking brief amusement in the way Harry was practically vibrating as he bounced around the small cottage, the dogs barking and racing around as they sensed their Master's good mood. The young Uchiha was quite nervous about meeting these people, he'd seen their pictures around the house and listened to the stories that Hari-san had told him about them, to Obito, it sounded as though they were a Genin Team who were bumped up to ANBU unit in roughly five years, he was excited but also very nervous.

A knock on the back door had the dogs going insane, rushing over and jumping up at the door barking their heads off, he could hear someone laughing outside at the clamour as Harry grinned so widely it looked like his face was going to split as he casually shoved the dogs aside and opened the door to let them in.

Weasley Hermione came in first, to Obito she was rather tall for a girl at about 5'8" in height, her once bushy hair was now sleek and curly, a pair of reading glasses were perched on her nose giving her a very studious aura along with the slightly baggy clothing she wore that didn't quite hide the growing baby bump of pregnancy she that was attempting to shield from the exuberant animals. Her husband, Weasley Ron, wasn't far behind her at a gangly and frankly shocking 6'5" in height he towered over everyone in the room, especially Harry and Obito who were the shortest, his deep vermillion coloured hair was still short and spiky, his skin was a little more tanned and his body much more bulky due to his Auror work.

The three hugged each other tightly and spoke in an alien language, judging from the tone, Hari-san was being told off about something or other, but the dark haired man just grinned unrepentantly at his old Teammate and gave her a peck on the cheek before turning to Obito and gesturing.

"Mai, meet Obito Uchiha, he's the one I rescued on my last mission." He announced, in a language he understood for once.

"A pleasure to meet you Uchiha-san. Don't believe everything this idiot tells you, its all lies." The pretty woman told him with a wink as she elbowed Hari-san in the side.

Obito smiled hesitantly at the good natured ribbing that occurred between the three, he may have been a little jealous that Team Twelve never quite managed that level of camaraderie before his so called 'death'.

"This here is my husband Ron." Mai said, practically shoving her husband in front of him, the red head merely waved lazily, smiling easily as he was then thrust away by the excited brunette. "So, what happened? Harry never tells us about his missions!" She complained, shooting the black haired male a sulky look as he went about making them some tea, he simply shook his head in amusement as Ron flopped back with Jack, Charlie and Lady clamouring around him for attention.

Obito shrugged, "I don't know what his mission was." He admitted quietly, watching as the pouty look returned to the pregnant woman's face.

Hari chuckled, "It shouldn't be that difficult to work out Mai. I'm a Demonologist for the UNSPEAKABLES, where _else_ would there be Demons apart from..." He trailed off suggestively, eyebrow climbing into his hairline as he returned to the living room, tray of mugs and a plate of biscuits in hand. Obito watched in curiosity and not a little awe as the woman frowned slightly, a faint cease appearing between her eyebrows – a very familiar one to Harry and one that Ron found rather cute – as her brain took off at light speed.

Brown eyes went wide and whipped around so fast at Harry she almost fell off the sofa, "You mean..." She spluttered in shock, Harry nodded, smiling secretively behind his mug. "So Obito is..." Again, Harry nodded, this time grinning unrepentantly, making Obito rather nervous. Hermione visibly had to wrestle with herself before self-control won out and she primly took her seat and reached for a biscuit, "I see, so that's why you look like you did back when you were living with your horrid relatives." Here, Harry winced and cringed backwards while Ron snorted and looked highly amused, "I see we're going to have to submit you to Molly's tender care again."

"Ah-ahahaha, that's not necessary Hermione. I mean, look at me? I'm good, been taking care of myself. I put on three whole pounds since I got back!" He squeaked, lifting his shirt, Obito winced, Harry had muscles, unfortunately, he didn't have much in the way of insulating fat, so they stood out in sharp relief along with his bones. What Obito didn't know was that before bringing him back from the Hidden Countries, Harry looked like something akin to a famine victim, the others in his team weren't much better, luckily though, he had been able to pull some strings to get some decent food sent out to them, Nutrient Potions could only carry one so far before their bodies started to poison themselves with it.

The rest of the visit passed nicely enough, Obito hit it off extremely well with both Hermione and Ron, he even loosened up enough to share some baby horror-stories about having to care for his little cousins Shisui and Itachi that made Ron groan theatrically and Hermione laugh. Harry simply sat back and basked, he had missed his friends sorely since going to the Hidden Countries, his dogs as well; perhaps now that he was back he could make a proper go of things with Viktor? Hm, he doubted it, somehow he got the feeling that the Bulgarian Quidditch Star had not waited for him, unsurprising really, if Harry was honest with himself, he knew that he would not have waited either.

The visit ended when a shrill voice sounded from Ron's pocket, making them all jump and Obito to swear in surprise. Harry groaned when he recognised the voice emanating from Ron's pocket, Ginny, of course, he had completely forgotten about her.

Ron and Hermione left not long after Ginny's call, Obito quite wisely didn't ask who she was when he got a look at Harry's face; obviously, he and Ron's younger sister had some unpleasant history.

Obito sighed happily as he wrote in his 'journal', Harry had suggested it a while ago so he could keep track of everything that happened while he was outside of Konoha, when he returned, he could simply hand them over to the Interrogation Squad to pick apart. Harry had even allowed him to take photographs, flippantly waving a hand stating that if there was anything sensitive that he was wary of allowing the Village to get a hold of then he wasn't even going to show them to Obito so there were no worries.

He had been living with Harry for about sixteen weeks (four months) now, after meeting Ron and Hermione he then met Longbottom Neville and his wife Luna, the Weasley twins and had an _encounter_ with one Weasley Ginny. Who was just as unpleasant as Harry warned him about. She was pretty yes, you had to be blind not to notice that she was a very attractive young woman, long fiery red hair, rich doe-like brown eyes, flawless pale skin with symmetrically patterned freckles on her cheeks, a slim curved body, she was gorgeous. But she was a bitch. A slutty bitch too according to Harry.

She had come barging into the house while Harry was out back doing the gardening and Obito was busy repairing his Hitai-ate, the scuff marks were intolerable for a proud Konoha Shinobi. He remembered looking up in alarm, Kunai already in his hand when the front door slammed open and there she was, dressed in a semi-form fitting red velvet robe with a gold thread trim and emerald jewellery. He was not ashamed to admit that his jaw had dropped open at the sight of her, that had quickly been rectified when her eyes narrowed on him and she sneered at him, speaking in that strange language again, the one that Harry sometimes spoke and was only just beginning to teach him to understand. She'd started to shout at him when he didn't answer and that was when Harry came in and spoke to her, it was quite funny now that Obito looked back, Harry, covered in mud and grass stains in his old baggy clothes, her in that regal red dress, and yet somehow he was the one who came off much more impressively and summarily made her leave in tears after a few well made comments.

Then there had been the disembodied head in the fire, _that_ had given Obito a heart-attack, when Harry came downstairs to see what was wrong the Uchiha could tell that the person in the fire was one of the few who he _really_ hated. They'd spoken, the blonde had a strange voice, pompous, rough but also cultured and kind of oily, it reminded him a little of Orochimaru-sama actually, but not quite as brazen about it. Eventually it degenerated into hissing angrily at each other and then Harry just went quiet, the whole room suddenly felt a lot colder and the man in the fire abruptly twitched and vanished, Obito never saw the expression on his friend's face but he was kind of scared to think about it. He probably looked a little like Minato-sensei when he got angry.

Anyway, now that Obito was well enough, Harry was being recalled back to work, he wasn't happy about it, neither was Obito to be honest, but it needed to be done. The rest of his team from the Hidden Countries were due back and he needed a full debriefing before compiling all their information into an official report for Croaker and the Minister.

During that time, Harry had lent Obito some books on Elemental composition, being an Uchiha, he was naturally predetermined towards Fire and just looking at the book Harry gave him, Obito could tell that this was an _incredibly_ old book. So old, that the practices of it had been all but lost, meaning he would be the only one to master them aside from Harry and Hermione – who was surprisingly Gifted with Fire manipulation.

He would make his family _green_ with envy when he returned. And he'd kick Kakashi's butt and show Rin who the better Ninja was and she's instantly fall in love with him and then they'd get married, have a mountain of kids that would love and adore him because he would be a cool and nice dad who was there for them all the time and gave them piggy back rides and icecream and read them bedtime stories about Eragon and Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey. Kakashi would be his bestman at the wedding, yeah, and Minato-sensei would be the one who married them because he would be the Hokage and Kushina-sensei from the academy would be there too and she and Harry could date because that would be so cool and Kushina-sensei was _way_ better than Ginny, much nicer. And Prettier.

Obito grinned happily as he finished outlining his plans for the future before blushing hard and hastily scrawling through them, he'd forgotten this journal would be handed over to the interrogation squad; he'd never live it down. Maybe he should just keep this version to himself? No, Harry would force him to hand it over. He didn't want either of them getting into trouble for withholding information.

Sometimes, Obito really wondered whether or not he was a Ninja in disguise, he knew more about the way Hidden Villages worked than he did, and he was _born_ in one!

* * *

Well Harry had been right in assuming that Tobias wouldn't be best pleased with him when he was finally reunited with Van, Zack hadn't been too happy either when he finally got his hands on Felix but he didn't much care. Zack was too lazy to do much more than complain half-heartedly and go and get his lover some food when the blonde asked it of him – Felix was happy about the arrangement at least.

While the Magical Community claimed to be at the forefront of the world, they were painfully as outdated as their fashion sense. The majority of the Purebloods were actually quite homophobic – Ginny, Molly and Percy being at the forefront along with the Malfoys', the Lestranges' and the Notts' to name but a few – but over the recent few years tolerance for such things had increased dramatically. It may have had something to do with Harry publically outing himself during the Daily Prophet's field day over his breakup with Ginny at the end of the Final Battle, or it could have had something to do with several other key figures finally outing themselves, Amelia Bones, Gilderoy Lockhart, Viktor Krum, even Christina Warbeck admitted that she was curious about being with another girl and wouldn't mind experimenting. What few people objected after that were pointed in the direction of the muggle-world, if the Magical world was so much better than them, why had equal rights for all races, religions, sexes and sexual orientations been around there longer than in the Magical World? It silenced the majority, but the few stubborn ones – Ginny, Molly, the Malfoys' – continued to clatter around, claiming that homosexuality was just a disease, that it could be cured just as easily as Dragon Pox with the love of a good woman/good man and the family that she/he could bring.

To be honest, it was annoying Harry a bit, he openly stated he was bi-sexual, he was an equal opportunist who went for anything pretty, heck, he'd even had an interesting relationship with Firendz once. It hadn't lasted very long due to the fact that he was still out-casted by his herd and living in Hogwarts – which Harry couldn't gain much access to as he was no longer a student. Shame really, he enjoyed his short time with the Centaur, once you got him to stop talking in riddles he was actually quite the charming guy, wicked sense of humour too, who knew that the whole 'Mars is Bight Tonight' thing was just to piss silly little humans off? Gabrielle had been fun too, like her older sister she was quite the lady, neither Harry nor Gabrielle were looking for commitment so when they split they still remained as 'OMFG BFF YAAAAY :DDD', Bill still gave him dodgy looks for that, Veela may be wild-cats in bed but to be honest, he and Gabrielle just didn't have much in common. She was horrified at the thought of living in such a dinky cottage that Harry did and slightly disgusted over the fact he let the dogs sleep on his bed, she was a Lady of High class. Harry grew in a broom closet with spiders for pets and entirely too much manual labour. What did she expect? If his cousin threw toast on the floor, the minute his relatives were out of sight, Harry would have eaten it, bit of dirt never hurt anyone and he needed as much food as he could get. But that was beside the point and he was getting entirely off track, he openly stated he was Bi, but the Daily Prophet starts pitching a fit about how he's into men, its like he suddenly only had a deep and meaningful desire to get some man-sausage in his mouth or up his arse.

Sometimes, he really wanted to get Collin out of the Daily Telegraph or whatever muggle newspaper he was working at this week and force him to give the Daily Prophet an entire revamp, to make it report hard truth instead of gossip rags!

Either way, regardless of whatever he was bitching about this time, with his Report handed into to Croaker, he had been handed another Mission, this time a solo as he was the only Demonologist sufficiently recovered from the mission. He needed to go to South America to explore the Mayan and Incan Magical Ruins, there had been a worrying fizzles of Demonic Energy and the Brazilian Ministry of Magic were getting antsy, they didn't _have_ any Demonologists, it was considered an archaic and useless occupation in the Jungle, they had more interest in Potion Masters, Herbologists and Care of Magical Creature Specialists.

Speaking of, Harry would _have_ to call Neville and Charlie in on this, maybe Bill too, the Inca's tended to put some extremely nasty Wards on their temples and he was no Tomb Raider/Curse Breaker.

Hm, maybe he should take Obito too; he would probably enjoy the chance to see more of the world.

Yeah, Harry would take Obito with him, the Uchiha would probably be more comfortable in the Amazon anyway, the large trees would remind him of home and Harry could get him started on some of his combat rehabilitation now that he was finished going through all the basic kata forms.

His missing eye would be a problem... maybe Harry could get him a replacement like Moody used to have? Until he could figure out how to work past his new blind spot.

* * *

**Finito. Gods this was like pulling teeth.**

**Also: HAPPY BIRTHDAY STALKER OF STORIES!**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter Five**

* * *

_BRAZIL_

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID THIS CORRIDOR WAS – ACK! – CLEAR!" Harry howled as he twisted his body to previously impossibly thought angles to avoid the onslaught of flying weaponry and booby-traps that had all simultaneously triggered and attacked him.

Bill scratched at his chin, nonchalant smile on his face as he stood twenty feet further down the corridor out of the reach of the booby-traps with his brother and Neville who was busy cooing over an ivy he found growing out of a crack in the wall, "I guess I was mistaken. But there should be a Blood-trigger when you reach the other end of the corridor that'll disable all the traps so those of us who aren't as athletically gifted can reach you two." He declared happily as he shifted the heavy book under his arm, smirking as his brother laughed and leaned against him listening to the sound of their 'younger brother' and the young teenager he'd brought along for the trip curse them out vilely.

Harry flipped and twisted his legs rapidly, "When we get out of this, _vengeance!_ Agreed?"

"Agreed." Obito panted, he had seen a hornets nest on their hike into the tomb, and a number of interesting spiders. He also knew how to make explosive tags thanks to Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sama being Fuuinjutsu Masters.

* * *

_EGYPT_

A single obsidian eye stared up at the massive structure in front of them, the faintest of frowns creasing his features.

"Why is there a giant triangle in the desert?" Obito asked, looking up at Harry who was consulting a map, his dark hair had been getting longer lately and was now pulled back under a white turban as he perched cross-legged on the saddle of his tawny camel.

"It's called a pyramid." He answered absently, "It's a tomb for an Ancient King. Couple of thousand years ago, this whole land was ruled by Kings who called themselves Pharaoh, its part of their religion that the Pharaoh is essentially a mortal chosen to be a God, to pass down the desires of the Gods unto the people. Didn't work out so well, Pharaohs were quite often assassinated, and they were the first non-magical people to ever have a female magic user as a ruler to my knowledge. Unfortunately, Cleopatra committed suicide along with her lover when Rome decided to _take_ Egypt. Cleo decided she didn't want to give some armoured idiot the honour of killing her so she asked her Serpent Familiar Wadjet to kill her." Harry explained as he thoughtfully perused the map, "We'll probably come across their tomb when we reach Hamunaptrah, otherwise known as City of the Death."

Obito pulled a face; City of the Dead? Well didn't Harry just have the fun-est job ever?

_

* * *

_

AFRICA

"Thumb of God?"

"Yeah, that's what the locals called it. Giant finger of rock just jutting up in the middle of the grasslands, no rhyme or reason, its just there. They called it the Finger of God because it was one of the tallest things within eyesight reaching up towards the heavens." Harry scratched his chin, "At least I think so. Hey look. _Vultures_! Let's go mess with 'em!" Harry shot off with a wild cackle on his horse; Obito cheered shooting off after him as they bowled into the small congregation of carrion birds, setting them into a riot.

Half an hour later the pair were in a lightly vegetated oasis at the foot of a dormant volcano that most everyone else considered as just another rocky outcropping, "Why are we here Harry?" Obito asked, pulling his goggles up to put some eye-drops into his remaining eye, the other one being covered with a snazzy black eyepatch.

"Well, on top of being a Demonologist, I'm also the most powerful fighter my Government has, hence why I get sent off on suicide missions. They don't like me much since I trashed their Prophesy room when I was fifteen. I'll have to tell you that story sometime, you'd love it. Anyway, we got a request from the African Ministry to send a Snake Speaker to deal with the nest of Black Basilisk they've got in this dormant volcano here. I'm the only one the British has so whoopsy-daisy, bob's-yer-uncle, fanny's-yer-aunt, here I am." He declared with a wry expression on his face as he poked his tongue out in dislike.

"Snake Speaker?" The 13-year-old asked curiously, he'd mentioned that before when they were in Egypt.

"Yeah. I can speak to Snakes in their own Language. It's not something I like to spread around, so naturally everyone knows. I hate being famous. Anyway, before you ask, Basilisk are essentially the King of all snakes, the head honchos. Their bite is the deadliest thing you're likely to find around these parts aside from a Nundu, but thankfully we don't have to worry about those, Basilisk and Nundu hate each other and avoid one another like the plague. But anyway, deadliest snake in existence and yes, I'm including Orochimaru's Manda in that as well. He can't kill you just by looking you in the eye. These bastards can, add to that, they're a lot faster than Manda and a heck of a lot more poisonous."

"And they want you to kill a whole nest of 'em! On your _own!_" Obito spluttered in horror.

Harry shrugged, "Yeah pretty much. Nothing new though. Killed my first Basilisk when I was a little younger than you, but I had help from a magic sword and a Phoenix so it all came out good in the end and I made an absolute _mint_ off its remains on the Indian Black Market for Potion ingredients." This was said with diabolical laughter and the rubbing together of his hands.

Obito edged a little bit away from him in fear before promptly throwing his tin mug of water over his shoulder, he wasn't taking any chances(1).

* * *

_ENGLAND_

Croaker scowled as he slapped a long sheet of parchment onto the dark wood desk, "Bambie, what the heck is this and why did I find it on the bulletin board in the Minister's office?" He barked voice thick with annoyance.

Harry paused in his latest Mission report – leaving out Obito's involvement, he didn't think Croaker needed to know the Uchiha slept through the whole thing outside while Harry tackled six adolescent Black African Basilisk who had acquired an ability to spit lava at him – and peered at the piece of paper.

"_Things that Team Bambie are no longer allowed to do. One: release farm animals into the Department of Mysteries. Two: Or the Minister's office. Three: Or the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. Four: Inflatable animals are not allowed either. Five: You are no-_ You are not Sailor Moon?" Green eyes widened and for a moment, Croaker actually believed that Potter may have had nothing to do with this. Then tears started to well up in his eyes, "N-n-nooo, my dreams for the future! Gone! Shattered! Destroyed! My life _no longer has __meaning anymore!_"

Croaker watched the hysterics with a deadpan expression, all the while absently wondering just why the hell did he ever take this whack job into his department? Oh yes, he was like the Lovegood woman, insane, but brilliant.

"Are you quite finished?" He finally asked when he sensed the histrionics beginning to taper off, a sharp wail sounded and then Harry sat up, the very picture of professionalism.

"Just about."

"Now, care to explain how this got where it did?" He asked, massaging at the bridge of his nose.

Harry grinned unrepentantly, "I may have sent it to the Minister for the lols. She seemed to appreciate it." Of course she would. After all, Susan Bones and he went _way_ back and she had a killer sense of humour.

Croaker merely sighed and left, leaving the list on his table as well.

Harry's innocent look turned evil.

* * *

_CORNWALL_

Obito watched proudly as Harry ran through the handseals, he had been tutoring the older male in Chakra and Jutsus in exchange for everything that he had been teaching Obito, in terms of Chakra, Harry had Genin reserves due to the fact he had never tapped into them but holy damn if his control wasn't something that could rival Tsunade.

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_ (**Great Fireball Technique**)!" The dark haired man called as he breathed out, the thin ribbon of blue tinged flame flicked out and then expanded, the fireball was roughly the size of Obito's torso and tightly controlled, its core blue and white, denoting how _hot_ it was in comparison to the other Uchiha's he'd seen.

"I think I'm jealous. You're already better at it than me." He complained pouting; Harry just released the Jutsu and chuckled.

"I've had more experience with fire in its raw elemental form. It likes me." He admitted with a toothy grin that made Obito wonder just how much trouble Harry found himself in during his short but no doubt eventful life. "Anyway, I think it's about time I taught you something too. Books are all well and good," He snapped his fingers and swept a hand out across the small field where they were practising, the grass just flaking away and the ground hardening, a single circle carving out of the still slightly soft earth in front of him. "But there's nothing like something to actually _do_, is there?"

Obito shook his head in agreement, eyeing the circle warily; they weren't going to Sumo Wrestle were they? Neither of them had the bulk and from what Harry explained to him the first time they saw it on TV was that it was steeped in honour and traditions, not just anyone was able to become a Sumo warrior. The circle was roughly eight feet in diameter and Harry stood at the very edge of it.

"I'm going to teach you the beginning forms of Baguazhang. It relies on erratic and circular movements to create angles between yourself and your opponent and flow around their attacks to strike swiftly and cripplingly. I doubt it's your style but this one is particularly good for tight fighting, it blends well with _any_ weapon once you have a solid grasp of it. Hence why it's the one I use the most often even though I am far from a true master." Harry explained scratching his head before shifting his weight. "I'll start you on the beginner's exercises, this is what is known as Turning the Circle or Circle Walking. It's to teach the student about proper body alignment and flexibility. When you become more comfortable with the stances then we'll move onto more complex forms and internal power mechanics." He laughed upon seeing the baffled expression on Obito's face, "Don't worry, I'll explain in more detail when the time comes but for now, just concentrate on my movements. You'll be having to do them yourself after me. And no Sharingan. This is something that the _Body_ is taught, not the mind."

The 13-year-old nodded hesitantly as he watched his... well he guessed Harry was kind of his Sensei at the moment, as he watched his Sensei move through a collection of low stances, his body shifting between each movement with surprising grace.

A dark eyebrow rose, seemed easy enough.

* * *

_CHINA_

"Whoooooaa!"

Harry laughed, "Cool isn't it?" He asked rhetorically turning to look at the awe-inspiring view in front of them.

They were high in the mountains, no where near the cloud line but high enough for the trees to decide they would rather remain further down hill. All around them was harsh rock, grass, hardy shrubs and flowering bushes, but it was the view that really took Obito's breath away, he didn't really have many words to describe what was in front of him, just that it was beautiful.

The valley stretched out below them, a small lake trickling away into a ribbon of shimmering white and blue as it ran gently past the small rural village they had passed through several hours ago, Obito could see the children he had played with while Harry was getting supplies jumping in and out of the river water with his Sharingan as their fathers did the fishing and their mothers repaired the fishing nets on the sandy beaches as they gossiped – no doubt about Harry and how he would make a fine looking husband for their daughters, Obito had to fight to hide his grin. The forest clung to the roots of the mountains like a thick green carpet, he could see brightly coloured exotic birds taking wing as a predator prowled through the undergrowth, he could see smudges of orange that he assumed were Orang-utans – Harry had pointed them out before on their hike – he watched the little white dots moving across the watery ledges on the other side of the valley, Rice fields Harry explained, Obito knew what they were but he'd never actually _seen_ them.

"C'mon, the Temple only shows up at Sunset, we need to get there before nightfall." Harry called as he made his way further up the path, tearing Obito away from the incredible view. The Uchiha cancelled his Sharingan and whipped out the Camera Harry gave him and snapped a picture, he wanted to keep this memory and share it with Rin, she would love to come here in person. Maybe he could convince Minato-sensei to let Harry take them again, all of them, him as well _and_ that secret girlfriend he thought they didn't know about.

"Where are we going anyway? You said there was a temple up here but why would there be one here if the Village is all the way down _there_ and only available at Sunset?" He asked, Harry laughed again, ruffling his hair, Obito didn't take offence, Harry liked laughing, he said he was making up for the lack of it in his childhood now when he was old enough and wise enough to find the world amusing. Obito said he was just jaded, cynical and sadistic enough to find other's pain hilarious; Harry didn't deny it and just smiled a secretive little smile that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"It's a special temple for people like me." The green eyed man explained as they hiked onwards, "It is surrounded by all four elements and therefore sacred, it's something that the people of today have largely forgotten. I didn't know it at all until I started studying Demons, why they always patron themselves to an Element, it brings power, protection and understanding. There are so many other reasons that I could probably never fathom or understand, but for now, I like my reason for visiting this temple better."

"And that is?" Obito asked, frowning as Harry pulled aside a flowering bush that Obito recognised as a Cherry Blossom tree, he blinked in surprise over the fact that it was February and there was a Cherry Blossom _tree_ that was a _bush _that was _flowering_, and opened his mouth to question the strange plants around him when the words died in his mouth.

"The phoenix for one." Harry admitted, enjoying the absolutely gobsmacked expression on his young friend's face at the sight of the large fiery bird that landed on Harry's shoulder, trilling in recognition. "Happy birthday Obito. Allow me to introduce Fawkes, a very dear old friend."

* * *

_HIROSHIMA_ (2)

They were walking around the Museum dedicated to the Hiroshima Atom Bomb, Obito's eyes were wide with pity and horror at the sights before him, to think, that such destructive power was born without the help of a Demon.

Harry had brought him here to show him that Demons weren't the only evil things in the world, that there could be evil people as well, people who meant well but did wrong, the same could be said of Demons. They were all capable of thought, of reason, of morals and self restraint, some just chose to ignore it and now, as he walked through the corridors and stopped in front of a life-sized diorama depicting the scene just seconds after the bombing, men and women scrambling over burning ruins, their skin peeling and melting away from their flesh as they silently screamed in agony, he couldn't help but grow up a little, and begin to see the world with a new insight.

He shook his head and continued walking, rubbing ineffectually at his watering eye, it was just dust, he wasn't crying. He _wasn't_.

He met up with Harry in front of the Peace Memorial, his eye flickering to the left where the statue of the girl, of Sadako Sasaki who died of Leukaemia from the bomb just 10-years-later, she was a civilian, younger than him. He looked away and rubbed at his eye again, only looking up when Harry wrapped an arm around his shoulder in silence.

* * *

_ENGLAND_

Harry and Obito looked up in surprise as Ron promptly burst out of the room, a bundle of blankets held aloft in his arms, "I'M A DAAAD!" He announced gleefully, unknowingly mimicking the very incident following Harry's own birth with James bursting out of the room. Luckily for Ron, Hermione ended up having a muggle Cistercian due to the awkward position of the baby, meaning she couldn't get up to smack him and take the baby like Lily had.

There was an instant uproar from everyone present, Harry and Obito hung back as the rest of the Weasley Clan clustered around the youngest son to greet their new relative into the world, Natalie grinned from the doorway as Harry and Obito made their way to her.

"She's still a little out of it from the pain killers but she's all healed up, she should be good to go tomorrow morning." The blonde Healer explained with an indulgent smile as Molly Weasley gushed over her new Granddaughter, a thin tumulus wail coming from the middle of the knot indicating that the clamour had awoken the infant. Harry chuckled, shaking his head as he pushed Obito into Hermione's delivery room, the brunette laid back on the pillows, the sheets all clean, she was wearing an old comfortable shirt of her husband's buttoned to just below her breasts and then left open for Natalie to get to the baby bump, her hair was pulled back and she was frowning at them but she smiled when she realised who it was.

Harry smiled as he made his way over to her, "You know. I've known you for years but I don't think I've ever seen you look so beautiful." He told her sincerely, giving his surrogate sister a soft kiss on the forehead. Obito was torn between admiration – because that was the kind of smooth talking that got you the girl – or disgusted that he would even attempt to say something like that.

The brunette giggled tiredly as she shifted to get more comfortable on her pillows, "Sweet talker. Mr Potter, you should know by now that I am a happily married woman and now mother to the most beautiful little girl in the world." She declared pompously.

Harry grinned, "Ahh true, but you know our love was never meant to be tied down with such boorish and mundane constraints as marriage and motherhood. Though I do say, I think a baby-bump would look quite fetching on myself don't you?" He asked teasingly, miming a large pregnancy swell on his own stomach.

Hermione laughed and slapped him in the stomach, "Keep acting like a man whore and you really _will_ end up pregnant Mr Potter. Research in America to promote the gender-equality and homosexual rights campaign have come up with a number of potions and treatments to enable male conception." She warned with a waggle of her finger and a wicked glint in her eye, "Keep acting like that and I may just have a little accident over your drink while I'm examining it." She threatened sweetly.

Harry chuckled, "I wouldn't mind having a child." He admitted easily, ignoring the look of shock, horror and teenage-disgust written all over Obito's face. Sure he knew Harry would screw anything that moved – Jiraiya-sama was pretty much the same – but becoming a _woman_!

That was just a bit _too_ weird for him.

* * *

_CHINA_

The water felt good against his over heated skin, the air here was still rather thin, thinner than Obito was used to, hence why Harry said it would be a good idea to come and train at the Elemental Temple they'd visited for Obito's 14th birthday several months ago. It was quiet, secluded, they were the only ones who knew where it was, the phoenix would protect them and Harry could teach Obito how to properly manipulate his Fire Element and how to wield various kinds of weaponry without distraction or interruption.

He had booked a few months off from work so he could devote all of his time and attention onto his '_chibi otouto_' – gods how Obito hated that name, he wasn't _that_ much shorter than Harry! Heck, he was catching up, there was only 2 inches separating their heights now much to Harry's disgruntlement, hence the lording of his two inches over the 14-year-old.

"You've done well learning the Baguazhang. I'm not quite as skilled with the combat style associated with Fire, but like with all the Elemental Styles, all you really need is the basics, after that, its all about intuition and instinct. And a healthy pinch of discipline and sheer awesome-ness." Harry's voice announced, Obito groaned pathetically as he rolled over and glowered at him through wet hair.

"We've been training for hours! Can't we take a break already?" He pleaded, he wanted to explore!

They were currently sat in the bowl of a dead volcano, a small lake had set itself into the centre and the trees had carpeted the small valley thickly, it was truly a magical place, Obito had never even seen several of these plants before in his life, the animals as well, there was an old squat temple, the insides gutted and desecrated. The phoenix had decided to make it their home and invited nature into what had once been a rotting abandoned little temple was now a riot of life and colour and light. Obito and Harry adored it, right now, Obito was laying in the muddy shallows of the lake having had his ass whooped yet again by his '_Oniisan_', the UNSPEAKABLE shook his head in amusement at the irritated look on Obito's face.

"Look Obito, we don't know when you'll be going back to Konoha, don't you think it would be an idea to learn as much as possible while you can? Improve as best you can so you can show Rin-chan that you're a man now?" He teased with a knowing wink, making the Uchiha's cheeks burn scarlet, lately he had been having rather uncomfortable dreams... most of which had his timid but kind Teammate as the star, there had even been some featuring _other_ people he knew like Kurenai-chan and Natalie-sensei, the most disturbing one being of Kushina-sensei from back when he was an Academy Student. He had _almost_ written about those dreams in his 'journals' before remembering that they were going to hand those into the interrogation department and immediately threw his pen across the other side of the room in panic, as if having it within five feet of that book would magically cause the words to be inked onto the page. He would never live it down if Minato-sensei found out he had naughty dreams about his Acadmy teacher. Neither would Kakashi, or Genma, oh gods, if his Uncle Fugaku found out! There went any chance of Obito being welcomed back into the family. The Uchiha Clan was as Xenophobic as it got.

"Shut up Niisan." He grumbled getting to his feet, not catching the look of shock on Harry's face before it turned into a much softer expression – the same one he wore when he held baby Rose for the first time, after Hermione had hexed her husband into the Shinigami's realm. When he was finally on his feet, the look was gone and Harry was practically _leering_ at him.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Obi-chan." He teased, making the 14-year-old go pale and shift uncomfortably as Harry slung an arm over his shoulder, "I think it's about time I gave you 'The Talk'."

Something inside of Obito shrivelled up with a pitiful whimper.

* * *

_ENGLAND_

"_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR OBI-TO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!**_"

The now 15-year-old Chuunin blushed scratching at the back of his unruly black hair, practically glowing with happiness as everyone sang him a birthday song, Harry placing a large double chocolate and buttercream frosted birthday cake in front of him, fifteen candles flickering in the gloom of the living room.

"Blow out the candles and make a wish!" Natalie-sensei called, having to repress a coo of delight at the dark crimson blush that stained the boy's cheeks when he caught sight of her. Really, it was slightly flattering to have a now 15-year-old crushing on you, Harry had laughed himself sick when she asked him about it.

"I wish..." Obito began,

"Nooo, don't say it out loud or it won't come true!" Hermione admonished from where she was bouncing baby Rose on her hip, smiling warmly at the birthday boy. Obito blushed and nodded, closing his eyes and obviously thinking about it before leaning forward and blowing out all the candles in one long breath, plunging the room into darkness as everyone cheered and clapped – Harry's voice drifting through the dark saying 'who just pinched my ass?' accompanied by a few chuckles before the lights were put back on.

The little cottage Harry owned was filled to the brim, poor old Charlie had passed away while Harry and Obito were in China, meaning Lady and Jack were feeling the loss keenly and now clinging closely to Harry and Obito. Both of them currently hiding under the table and watching the celebrating with bright eyes. Ron, Hermione, little Rose, Neville, Luna, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Felix, Zack, Van, Tobias, Elizabeth and Fiona were all crammed into the house along with Harry, Obito and Andromeda and Teddy. The 15-year-old didn't think he'd ever seen so many people at his birthday party before, and they _wanted_ to be here, it wasn't like at Itachi-chan's birthdays were everyone in the entire clan was forced to come, where they would sit in silence or politely chatting to one another while Uncle Fugaku paraded his prodigy son around like he was some kind of prize stallion.

"Happy Birthday. Here, Harry told me that you might be heading home soon so I put this together for you. It's a basic med-kit, bruise balms, blood replenishing draughts, calming draught, Draught of the Living Death, Dreamless Sleep, I even included a few phials of Skellegrow, just in cause something happens and it looks like the bone is too damaged to fix. Just have Harry vanish it, dose yourself with this and by tomorrow you'll have yourself a brand-new leg bone." Natalie explained, handing over a small dark green hip pouch with an orange smiley face stitched onto it, she gave the boy a friendly kiss on the cheek, enjoying the way his face went pink before stepping back.

"T-thank you Natalie-sensei." Obito exclaimed, fingering the soft pliable Dragon hide.

"This is from all three of us." Hermione announced, nodding to her husband as she bounced Rose on her hip and handed over a white plastic bag, "I've been around Harry long enough to know the signs." She admitted as Obito pulled out a large stuffed dragon, "It's a cuddle companion, they're a special wizarding toy that's been linked to the affections of everyone in this room, when you hug it, it will be like all of us are hugging you back. It's particularly popular for when students first go off to Hogwarts." She explained, watching as Obito experimentally hugged it and then grinned, squeezing it a little tighter and making her laugh.

"Thank you!" Obito yelled, launching himself out of his seat and hugging the woman tightly, giving Rosie a peck on the forehead as she gabbled and grabbed at his hair before he quickly hugged Ron around the waist as well.

Next came Charlie, he gave Obito a necklace with a large dragon fang hanging from it, there was a symbol carved on it that translated into '**Fire Soul**'.

From Bill and Fleur came a book, this one on the fighting techniques of the Northern Shaolin, the style of martial art that was primarily affiliated with Fire manipulation, Harry had taught him the basics and now they were both improving on them in their own way through the use of books and DVDs bought online. They were no substitute for a good teacher but what choice did they have? Both of them were spotting one another, giving advice, and they were working their way through the style under their own steam and watchful eyes and making it work for them.

From Team Bambie – the UNSPEAKABLE team that Harry captained – came The List, a list of all the things they weren't allowed to do anymore, several of them were highlighted and had little attachment notes for an aspiring prankster... Obito was already plotting and judging from the grins the team exchanged, they knew it too.

Elizabeth gave him a big hug and a new outfit, hand made out of Acromantula silk and Black Basilisk hide, Fawkes had even donated a few gold and red feathers for her to stitch into the design. In all, it looked absolutely awesome and Minato-sensei was going to be _green_ with envy.

Fiona brought out a caged falcon, she said it was his to name but to treat him well, he was trained as a messenger hawk, faster than Owls, not _quite_ as intelligent or loyal, but definitely faster and a lot more difficult to intercept, she guessed that it would be good for him to have a bird like that in the Hidden Countries. Obito decided to call it Hawkie. Harry decided to try and strangle him until he gave the damn bird a better name, in the end they decided to call it Charu.

"Obito, all of us clubbed together to make this for you." Harry announced as he placed a small red wooden box in front of him, "We felt that it wouldn't be fair for you to return home after Iwagakure had stolen your other one so... we made this for you."

Obito blinked curiously and opened the small box, staring in shock at what lay inside on black silk; it was a glass eye, identical to his natural eye. He looked up and stared at the others in silent shock.

Harry smiled, Luna, Neville, Natalie, Andromeda and Hermione behind him, they'd all chipped in to help make the eye, "Its exactly the same as your old eye Obito, we used a little bit of your blood and examined your remaining eye the last time you knocked yourself unconscious. We used the information to recreate your Sharingan, it turns off and on just like your other eye, I err, also added in a few extras. You can see in a full 360 degree range, the eye is capable of spinning around and seeing out the back of your head, also, it can peek through clothing, people and even walls to ascertain if there's any threats near-by." Harry explained, smiling slightly nervously, as if Obito was going to reject the eye.

He needn't have bothered. The minute he shut up, the 15-year-old was already tackling him to the floor and squeezing him so hard his ribs audibly cracked and Natalie had to spend the next five minutes healing them up while Hermione taught him how to put the eye in properly.

They would be going to Konoha soon, Obito needed to be ready for his grand entrance.

* * *

**(1) Obito tossing the water:** He doesn't want whatever crazy Harry has and he assumed there was something wrong with the water.

**(2) The Hiroshima Museum:** I've been there; it is a real tear-jerker. So is the peace memorial, especially when you see the burned out ruined building off to your right. The Peace Memorial is perhaps my strongest memory of when I was in Japan and I am not ashamed to admit I cried when I was walking through there.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter Six**

* * *

Obito looked around the small two floored Cottage, this would be the last month he would be staying here, it was almost April and they would be leaving for Konoha on the fifth, it would take them until the seventeenth to reach the village since Harry wasn't keen on Apparating that kind of distance.

A lot of the house was already packed up and sealed away into Storage Scrolls, almost all the DVDs and books had been packed up, as had the majority of the cutlery and dishes and photographs, other odds and ends. Most of their clothes had been packed and Sealed as well, Harry had taken to the Storage Seals surprisingly well, if he ever got some proper instruction in Fuuinjutsu the Chuunin wouldn't have been surprised if Konoha found themselves with another fledgling Master on their hands.

Lady barked and got to her feet, growling at the door as Jack swiftly hid himself under the table, Obito repressed a groan, that was the reaction they got when Ginny or Malfoy showed up at the door. This time, it was Ginny, and Obito wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing or a bad one, Malfoy never put Harry into the foul mood that Ginny did but that was usually because the two ended up in some kind of Jutsu show-down in the garden. The Uchiha got the feeling that they secretly liked fighting one another and it was just their way of dealing with the sexual tension, when he brought it up to Hermione she nearly died choking on her tongue with laughter.

"What do you want?" Obito bit out as he opened the door, holding it steady as she tried to shove it open and come into the house.

"I need to see Harry." She declared sharply, "Let me in."

"Well Harry doesn't want to see you and he's made it incredibly clear already. Go away." He ordered, trying to close the door.

"Let me in or I'll curse you into the next life-time you ungrateful little bastard!" The red head snarled, whipping her wand out, she didn't even see Obito's hand as it shot out and snapped the slender length of willow before setting the broken twig on fire. When she did, she _screamed_, bringing Harry down the stairs faster than the smell of fresh treacle tart.

He paused, took in the scene and sighed heavily, a small globe of water filling his hand and putting out the flaming wand that she refused to drop, "Ginny, what do you want?" He demanded rubbing at his eyes.

"I-I-I heard you were leaving. I wanted to stop you." She explained, still staring at her ruin of a wand.

Harry scowled, "Well you won't. I'm fed up with the Wizarding world so I'm leaving with Obito and returning to his home village."

Ginny's face snapped up to his, "You would leave our world, you would leave _me_, just to go to some foreign backwater little hovel with _him!_" She shrieked pointing the charred strip of willow at the Uchiha who gave her a smug look.

"Yes. I would." Harry told her blandly, watching her face turn several colours before she smiled and shifted to give him a good view down her top.

"But Harry, what about us? I thought you were going to marry me? We had everything planned out. A family. You know only I could give you that." She told him huskily, running a finger down his chest coyly, smiling seductively up at him.

A single black eyebrow rose as he caught her hand, the way her face lit up nearly made Obito sick so he turned his attention to watching a small beetle crawling around on a grass stem not too far away as Harry casually tossed the offending limb away, "Ginevra Meriel Weasley, you are a slut and a rapist. I would not have a family with you if you were the last woman alive." He told her blandly before smirking maliciously, "And didn't you know? It's now possible for two men to conceive so I'm fairly sure I can find someone to give me a family without you. And even better, I won't be drugged into it." He bit out darkly, green eyes narrowed hatefully on the red head whose expression cycled through crushed, furious, horrified, disgusted, revolted and then indignant.

"Oh Harry this stupid little rebellion has gone on long enough! I'm through having you play hard to get! We were meant to be Harry! That Love Potion was just a little push so you'd get some confidence, those terrible Dursleys damaged you and made you incapable of being demonstrative about your feelings towards me, I'm not stupid. That's what the potion was for! I was so frustrated that you wouldn't do anything in regards to your feelings, it was sweet at first how you would always be looking at me, smiling shyly in the corridors, supporting me in Quidditch, but the fact that you never came out and _did_ anything drove me crazy!" The red head ranted, Obito raised an eyebrow at the startled look on Harry's face, he obviously had no idea what she was talking about. "I understood Harry, I understood that you didn't want to cause my family any problems, you've seen how protective my brothers are, you didn't want to cause strife, I _know_ that. But none of us thought you would survive the war against Voldemort, I wanted to give you as much love as I could, the love you'd never received from those horrid relatives of yours! I wanted to give you a family that you could enjoy, even if it was for a short while."

"Dumbledore told you didn't he?" Harry suddenly asked.

Ginny blinked, rearing back as if slapped, "What?" She hadn't been expecting her passionate speech about how she loved and understood him and just wanted to make him happy before he died to be interrupted with a question about that wrinkled up prune.

"Dumbledore told you the Prophesy and told you how he thought the power to destroy Voldemort was love right?" He asked blandly.

The red head flushed slightly, "He mentioned it yes. But he never went into detail about the Prophesy."

"Get out Ginny. This isn't playing hard to get. This is me rejecting you completely as a friend, as the family of a friend, as a lover and as a woman. Get the fuck out of my house before I kill you and hide the body where not even an Inuzuka could find it. Piss the fuck off _now_ Ginevra, I won't give you another chance." And with that, Harry turned around and slammed the door on her face, locking it behind him.

"Niisan?" Obito asked hesitantly when the black haired male slumped against the kitchen counter and rubbed at his face.

"It's alright Obito. I told you that most of my life had been pre-planned, I just didn't think it had been quite _that_ pre-planned." He sighed heavily and dragged the Uchiha into a one armed hug, "Be thankful Konoha has a concept of human rights. But if Orochimaru is Hokage, then you can bet your ass I am taking you out of that Village and we are joining Kumo." Obito laughed hesitantly, he wasn't quite sure whether Harry was being serious or not about going to Kumo if Orochimaru was Kage, but for some reason his 'brother' had a real hatred of the Snake Sannin so he guessed it was a possibility.

"Hey, can you teach me how to do that thing with the Water?" The 15-year-old asked suddenly, breaking the other male out of his more depressing thoughts.

Harry blinked before chuckling, "Bit more difficult than that, Fire and Water oppose one another, you'd need to learn Wind before you could start on Water. You know the combat style of Wind but because of your Fire Nature we needed to start teaching you the Fire Manipulation. I'm not quite sure why it has to go in that cycle just that it does." He shrugged a shoulder before yanking the boy into a headlock and scrubbing his knuckles through Obito's spiky hair. "Now go finish packing your junk. I think we should leave sooner rather than later."

* * *

The next morning, the Daily Prophet exploded with news about Harry's imminent departure and the argument he had with Ginny Weasley.

She was placed on trial in front of the Wizengmot under Veritaserum again and then sentenced to time in St Mungos psychiatric ward where she would be treated for a Muggle disorder known as De Clerambault's Syndrome, otherwise known erotomania. It is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that another person, usually of a higher social status, is in love with them – and every look, every gesture, becomes some sort of imagined signal of love.

It explained a lot, Obito thought, as he folded the paper over and placed it back in the stand while waiting for Harry outside of Gringotts.

He sniggered, a lot of the pre-teen girls in Konoha probably had that too if the number of them that stalked Kakashi was any indication.

* * *

"So this... was Kushina-sensei's home Village, huh?" Obito mused as they wondered through the sun-drenched sandstone ruins, it kind of reminded him of several Mayan ruins that Harry had taken him to see, the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools was just about as hot as the Caribbean so it didn't surprise him that their homes had such wide windows, thick sandstone walls and the occasional thatched roof.

Nature had already begun to claim the islands back, there were three in total, all interconnected via now rotting rope bridges, pipes and electrical cables, generators positioned in the through-ways between the islands used Hydro-electricity to power the entire Village. It was quite ingenious actually.

"C'mon Obito. We've got a lot of ground to cover and we're going to have to be extra careful when we reach Mizu no Kuni." Harry called from where he had already conjured a good boat for them to travel across, Uzugakure no Sato was just to the South East of Mizu-no Kuni, meaning that it would be faster to skim through their territory and into Nami no Kuni before making for Konohagakure no Sato. Hopefully they wouldn't run into much trouble while going through Mizu no Kuni.

The trip over the water was quick and it was without any trouble, it took about two days but Harry had packed a bottomless bag with a heck of a lot of food inside so they didn't go hungry, they may have gotten a little chilly at night but that was easily solved by curling up together in Harry's massive winter trench-coat. By the time they reached land, the two of them were so used to the ebb and flow of the water that they couldn't help but walk in a distinctive drunken fashion as they moved up the highway; Harry found it all rather hilarious and decided to keep it up all the way to Konoha.

Obito wondered if he could claim that it followed him home and could they please lock it in a small dark room never to see the light of day again.

Nah, he couldn't do that to Harry. Not when he made the best Okonomiyaki Obito had ever tasted. It was tempting though.

Especially when he started singing 'A Pirate's Life for Me'.

* * *

The gates were just as he remembered them, but the large vicious looking battlements had been removed, making the old red wood seem strangely... naked and small.

Obito stared up at it in silent contemplation, it seemed smaller than he remembered it, the trees looked greener, the air tasted better, the sun was an old friend against his back, he smiled happily, inhaling deeply as he listened to the familiar sounds of home.

Children running up and down the streets, shrieking and laughing, Shinobi chattering amongst themselves, that psycho Maito Gai running laps around the Village again, Civilians selling their wares in the Market, must have been a Wednesday, markets were only on Wednesdays.

"I guess the war ended while we were away huh..." Obito murmured still staring at the large open gate, he didn't remember the Gates being open at all while he was a Genin, or in the Academy, the war against Iwagakure no Sato had been brewing for a _long_ time, the White Fang's Mission going off the railings was just the final spark to the smouldering tinder that made the fire flare into life.

"Looks like. Here to hoping Orochimaru didn't get the job." Harry muttered as he shifted his backpack a little higher on his shoulder.

"What do you have against him anyway?" Obito finally asked.

Harry shrugged, "Wouldn't believe me if I told you and you'd definitely think it was a crappy reason. C'mon. Let's go and make ourselves known." He stated, shoving the young Uchiha forward with a slap to the back of the head.

"Hey! Harry!" The Chuunin whined rubbing at the back of his head, making sure his Hitai-ate was still fixed in place, while he had been repairing it, Harry had gone and carved some protection runes in the back of it, mostly it was to bring luck.

"LUCY! I'M HO-OME!" The green eyed youth called as he practically pranced through the gate and over to the two Chuunin standing guard, "Morning. I think I found somethin' of yours." He declared happily, grabbing Obito by the arm and presenting him to the two rather startled boys, freshly minted if their crispy-new flack jackets were anything to go by. "Uchiha Obito, formerly of Team Twelve under Namikaze Minato." He introduced gleefully, taking great amusement in how the two Chuunin's faces turned white, "You might want to close your mouth before something flies in there." He suggested to the youngest of the two who was gaping at them.

"Uchiha Obito died during the Iwa-Konoha war rescuing his Teammates from an ambush." One of the Chuunins growled, Harry shrugged.

"Yeah well, he wasn't in great shape when I got him out of that damn hole let me tell you. Took him months to get better even with our best medics regrowing half his internal organs and bones, oh and you might wanna tell your Kage, when I found him he was missing a Sharingan eye, not sure if Iwa got it or no-

"I gave it to Kakashi." Obito broke in, "I asked Rin to transfer it as a present for reaching Jounin rank." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "I forgot to get him anything for his promotion. Kaachan was bugging me about babysitting Itachi again and I just wanted to get out of the damn house." He admitted sheepishly, Harry sighed and bopped him on the head.

"Could have told me sooner. Here I am agonising over what might have happened to your eye over the last two years and you gave it to that stuck up git. Oh well." Harry sighed and rubbed at the back of his head, frowning slightly at his long hair, maybe he should get it cut or something? It had been almost over three years since he'd had a trim and his hair was now just past his shoulders in a pony tail.

A split second later, the two travellers were rolling backwards and flipping up and away from the pair of masked ANBU who descended out of no where fully intent on knocking them out and dragging them to interrogation.

"So rude those masked chappies. Kinda remind me of Death Eaters to be honest." Harry admitted lightly, tilting his head to the side in a remarkably bird like fashion.

Obito paled, "Harry you're not allowed to kill them they are _not_ Death Eaters, Hermione would send you to the corner, _I_ would send you to the corner!" The Chuunin yelped.

"Oh keep your knickers on. I'm not going to kill them. In fact, we'll go peacefully. We _want_ to go to the Interrogation Department; it would get this whole mess sorted out much faster." The UNSPEAKABLE announced, holding his hands out and smiling. When the one in the Tiger mask flashed over, Harry fought not to flinch but didn't expect the sharp blow to the back of his head; he didn't see Obito go down with under a similar blow.

The ANBU nodded to the two Chuunin who had hit the alert button under the table and called them before Shunshining out.

* * *

Evidentially, ANBU were a lot more like Death Eaters than Harry liked.

The dark haired UNSPEAKABLE shook his head idly and pushed himself upright, looking around his cell in vague disinterest as he got to his feet. Five by five, bucket in the corner, reinforced glass panel opposite the bucket, chair with restraints on them and a door with metal bars on the window. Everything was made out of concrete and judging from the Seals that painted the floor, wall and ceiling, it was also a Chakra Suppressor.

He smirked.

Good thing he didn't need Chakra then wasn't it?

* * *

Minato frowned, his arms folded as he observed the stranger who arrived this morning, he was still unconscious from the blow to the head the ANBU gave him. His belongings had yielded a number of Storage Scrolls that even he couldn't get into because several of the symbols were completely alien to him and even with a blood sample taken from the individual in question wouldn't open them. It required more, but from the Kanji written across them, it was fairly obvious to know what was in each scroll. Clothes, books, furniture, there was even one that read dogs, Minato wasn't quite sure what to make of that one, neither were the others in the **Fuuinjutsu** department.

Oh, he was awake.

Minato watched as the man pushed himself up, shaking his head lightly as he observed his surroundings, he definitely used Taijutsu, his movements were too smooth and economised to be a civilian, but Minato couldn't tell which style he used, which country it came from. It was completely alien to him, like... a duck trying to speak to a chicken.

He wasn't tall, perhaps a few inches shorter than he himself, his body was whipcord thin though, he didn't have the same muscle-mass as most Shinobi did, his clothing was vastly different as well, oh yes it was functional and practical but still very different. Even his basic bone structure was different to theirs, his eyes were larger and didn't have the same upswept angle, his skin was paler and his features narrower, smaller and softer. His eyes though... he'd never seen someone with eyes that colour of green before. Was it a new Doujutsu?

And the boy... the fifteen year old he brought with him claiming to be Obito... the resemblance was horrifyingly accurate, there was only one problem with this Obito and the true one, the true one had given his eye to Kakashi, the Fake Obito still had two eyes.

"_**Hm, Chakra suppression Seals. Clever. They would work too, if I used Chakra. Really, I'm not sure I like ANBU at all, remind me too much of Death Eaters.**_" Death Eaters? What were they? The ANBU mentioned that he'd spoken of them before and the Fake Obito was suddenly panicking and telling him not to kill them. A face was suddenly against the glass, black pupils expanding and retracting comically as he peered at them, "_**Is that you in there Minato-san? Oh you made Kage, good, good. I'm glad to see all your hard work paid off, Hizuren made a good call.**_" The Hokage frowned, did he know this man? No he'd never met him before in his life, he would remember eyes that colour, they were too different from anything in the Village, it would be too much a possibility of a new Doujutsu for him to conveniently forget.

"Do you want to begin the Interrogation?" Inoichi asked, he was somewhat confused about the man's behaviour, he certainly wasn't acting like someone being held captive by people who would kill him if they thought he was from another Hidden Village.

"In a bit. He may say something that'll give us a clue if we leave him to ramble a bit longer." Minato ordered still watching the man as he lounged in the interrogation hair lazily, humming as he twisted a strand of black hair around his fingers.

"_**You wouldn't believe the state Obito was in when I found him. Entire right hand side of his body was completely shattered, internal organs were basically pate... oh wait you guys don't get that stuff here, it's French. Umm... squishy paste, yeah that works. His insides were squishy paste. He was actually dead but when you know how resuscitation isn't that difficult. Friend of mind stabilised him and then the good Doctor fixed him up good as new.**_" The man chuckled slightly and made kissy faces, "_**It was so cute, little Obi-chan got a crush on her, still goes bright red whenever she gives him a hug. Hm what else? Oh yeah. We replaced his missing eye.**_" Minato stiffened, "_**Took a while to get the whole Sharingan thing to work but we managed it. Even gave him some Byakugan traits... maybe I shouldn't have told him it could see through clothing. Little pervert would use it too peek on girls probably. Hmm..... I should give him a talking to later, but every guy needs to perv a little bit.**_"

"Get in there." Minato ordered, "I want to know what the fuck he knows about recreating the Sharingan and Byakugan." If there was a chance that wherever he came from had living Sharingan and Byakugan users to study then Konoha's two greatest military advantages had just gone down the toilet hole. They couldn't risk it.

Inoichi nodded and swiftly left the room.

Minato turned around and crossed the small room to look into the other Interrogation cell where the 15-year-old was pacing up and down the cell, now that he looked a bit closely, his left eye was... shinier than the right one. Minato forced himself to study the teenager objectively, it was greatly difficult when all he wanted to do was go in there and kill the little bastard impersonating his dead kid but he had to.

Similar gait as the guy in the other room but there was something in there that screamed at him, it was _definitely_ familiar and – Uchiha Ryuu, the clan Taijutsu style, it was there in the small shifting of his weight and the way his knees flexed. Alright, it still didn't prove that this was Obito but it did prove that this was someone who had studied the traditional Uchiha Clan fighting style. Spiky black hair, perhaps a little longer than Obito's hair had once been, blue eyes squinted and narrowed, even had the same hair parting, Anti-clockwise rotation of his Chakra Circulatory system(1), again, didn't prove anything but an _extremely_ invasive and intense study of the Uchiha Clan – which begged the question _why_ Obito? Surely studying a prodigy like Itachi would be strategically more important or even Shisui who already showed promise, but Obito... he hadn't even mastered the Sharingan, or even developed it by the time this kind of intense observation would have been started. Then there was the very minute scarring on his face, little pale lines that he doubted anyone would notice unless they were actively _looking_ for some kind of flaw.

Minato sighed, he could find no physical imperfection that would deny that this was Uchiha Obito, doubt began to gnaw at his stomach, this could be one of the most elaborate infiltration missions with the very best of the best in S-rank, or it could be true.

This could be Obito.

"_**Do you mind! Jesus fucking Mary and Joseph! What is it with people and poking around in my brain without permission! Christ you'd think I'd be used to it by now because hey who **__doesn't_ _**love mind rape! Get that sword out of my face before I make you eat it.**_"

Minato repressed a snort, glancing over his shoulder to where his ANBU were holding their swords on a rather irritated looking foreigner while Inoichi was picking himself up off the floor with a dazed expression on his face. He kept shaking his head as if he were trying to shake water out of his ears as the other male continued to rant irately about people poking around his head without permission.

A crash in the teenager's room had Minato whipping around to see Kakashi of all people trying to take the other teenager's head off with a Kunai, the Hokage's eyebrow rose at the display of agility and dexterity the teenager possessed, that certainly wasn't the fumbled awkward movements that Obito had displayed before the mission into Kusa. Minato sighed as he felt that tiny grain of hope in his chest wither and die, a split second before he noticed the teenager's eyes were red.

Sharingan red.

* * *

"HOLD STILL YOU FUCKING IMPOSTOR!" Kakashi roared, slashing at him with the Kunai.

"You're trying to kill me you fucking retard! I'm not stopping for anything short of Rin flouncing around naked!" Obito yelled back twisting under a blow that would have torn his throat out, "And your aim sucks Kakashi! I gave you that eye so you could improve not get worse!" He taunted, grinning as the grey haired ANBU emitted a sound akin to that of an enraged cat, the grin faded as lightning crackled across his teammate's hand, "Oh crap." He muttered. Harry hadn't shown him how to redirect lightning yet! Sure he had been making leaps and bounds with his Fire Manipulation but he was no where near the level where Lightning was a possibility, and he didn't know the slightest bit of Earth Manipulation or Jutsus, he knew a few Air Manipulations but that was it! And Air wasn't going to help him now!

"_CHIDORI!_" Kakashi snarled and launched himself at the 15-year-old Uchiha, Sharingan eye blazing.

Obito's eyes narrowed as his own Sharingan blossomed to life, he would just have to be _exceptionally_ careful to avoid the fist load of electricity.

He needn't have bothered.

One of the Runes Harry had carved into his Hitai-ate had been one to notify him of any danger to Obito, a loud crack filled the room as Kakashi's wrist was promptly grabbed, the Chidori arcing out and engulfing Harry's body, his clothing and hair moving as if underwater from the sheer amount of energy saturating every cell before he flicked his hand out and pointed two fingers at the far wall. Lightning streaking out and blasting a large hole in the reinforced cement wall.

Kakashi stared in slack jawed shock at the display, he only really came to when Harry grabbed him by the back of the neck and shoved him towards the door.

"Get out of my sight Kakashi." The green eyed man snarled, aiming a kick at his ass in the process, "You're always going on about rules and regulations and what's the first thing you do when Obito gets back? Try to kill him. Why? Afraid that he'll ask for that eye back? Get the fuck out now before I dye you purple and hand you over to Vicky for a week."

Obito shuddered, Victoire, Fleur and Bill's daughter, oh gods that child should have never been born. Sheer evil, _SHEER __**EVIL**_.

Harry didn't give Kakashi a chance to disobey before he was being sent toppling out of the room with a wave of the Wizard's hand, the door slamming and locking behind him. "You alright?" The 24-year-old asked, kneeling down in front of his surrogate younger brother, checking him over for injuries and double checking that nothing had gone wrong with his eye.

"I'm fine. A little shaken I guess. I didn't think he would be that violent." The 15-year-old admitted rubbing his bleeding arm; Kakashi had managed to land a hit on him.

Harry hummed, "Well they all think you're dead. They're going to be pissed off because they think you're someone sullying the name of someone they consider precious. At the moment they think you're an impostor. Hence why I told you to keep the journals on your person when we reach Konoha. You got them?" He asked rubbing a hand across the slash and cleaning it up before healing it and repairing the damage to the cloth – he didn't notice the way that everyone watching through the mirror gaped.

"Yes I have them. Geez, you sound like Mai." Harry cuffed him upside the head.

"I resent that!"

"She's your Genin Teammate!"

"We weren't Genin! We don't _have_ Hidden Villages!"

"Good as! You guys started out doing the equivalent of D and C-rank missions and suddenly ended up with A and S-ranks by the time you were twelve! It's like you guys got bumped up to ANBU in a year or so!"

"Obito shut the hell up! Geez, there goes any chance of those guys thinking that I'm a harmless civilian. Next you'll be telling them that I'm the equivalent of a Kage and I can fly." Harry retorted sarcastically, snatching the boy's Hitai-ate from his head.

Obito fumed and aimed a punch to his gut, "But you are and you can! Don't think I haven't seen you practising with that Tessen Ron got you last year!"

Harry dodged away and kicked Obito in the back of the head, "Have you been hitting the cactus juice again? Next you'll be asking me if someone set Bill on fire again."

Obito coloured and lunged at his surrogate brother shouting at him, Harry smacked him in the forehead, knocking him backwards with a yelp as he summoned the glass eye out of Obito's head, making it levitate in his hand. "What the heck was that for!" The youth snarled, hand slapped over his now empty eye-socket as he jumped to his feet.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "One, I wanted to check that Kakashi's Chidori didn't do any damage to the web-work that Mai and Natalie placed over it, two, to show Minato that you _are_ Uchiha Obito and if he's still so antsy that you aren't then he can come and get a blood sample for Tsunade to examine under the conditions that he keeps Orochimaru away from it –

"I still don't get why I don't like him."

"I just don't. Shut up. And three, you were irritating me." This was said with a bright sunny smile.

Obito sighed and sat down with a sulky look on his face, "If we die. I'm so haunting you." He told his brother seriously.

Harry snorted, "If we die, you'll be the only one staying dead Obi-chan. Shinigami-sama likes me too much to let me off this earth." He stated as he grabbed the boy by the back of the head and jabbed the orb back into his eye socket.

"Owwww!"

"Oh suck it up ya wuss."

* * *

**(1) Anti-clockwise Chakra Circulatory system and hair lines:** It's explained by Jiraiya while he's teaching Naruto the Rasengan. I don't actually know what Obito's circulatory system orientation but its just a guess because he seems to go against the grain for an Uchiha and use Taijutsu more than Ninjutsu, so I came up with my own little theory that clockwise rotations mean its easier for someone to use Chakra for Ninjutsu and anticlockwise to make it easier to enhance Taijutsu with Chakra. If you don't like it ignore it, it was just something that gnawed at my brain for a little bit.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Harry couldn't help but chuckle when Minato and the ANBU finally got into the room, the minute they were in he merely held up a small scrap of paper Obito had folded up and hidden behind his Hitai-ate. He grinned happily at the confused faces and suddenly wary stances of the ANBU – they weren't Fuuinjutsu experts, they couldn't tell it was a simple Storage Seal like Minato could.

"Happy Birthday Minato, consider this your belated gift from Obito and I." He ignored the almost imperceptible tightening of the blonde man's face, ha, still didn't believe him, well that would change soon enough. "Journals. Every single day accounted for since I rescued the Gaki from under that landslide, first couple of entries are mine since he was unconscious the whole time so I apologise for the exceptionally poor penman-ship, your language is a difficult one to write." He waggled the piece of paper around with a smile, "Also, we took some of the jutsus from my home and created Handseals for them so now you've got your own little Jutsu collection that is exclusive to Konoha written in the back but, just to warn you, they take a hell of a lot of Chakra and even more Control to make happen."

Obito stared at his sensei in those robes and pulled a face, "C'mon Minato-sensei, we're telling the truth! I know its procedure but... give us a chance... please?" He pleaded, ignoring the warning look Harry sent him.

Minato's lips firmed, "Inoichi, the impostor is yours." The Hokage stated, ignoring the crumpled look of resignation and betrayal on the teenager's face, "Ibiki... the foreigner is all yours. Don't kill him. I want Shikaku and Oro-

Harry snapped back the Storage Seal, "I'm sorry but if Orochimaru has anything to do with either of us, I'm taking the kid, our stuff and returning to where I came from. I can handle rabid fangirls and that Dipshit Malfoy if it means I keep Obito as far away from that Snake freak as possible." The dark haired male bit out coolly.

Minato frowned, "And just why the distaste of a valued member of Konoha if you are not from the Hidden Countries?" He asked just as frigidly.

Harry smirked unpleasantly, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He stated simply as the colour of his eyes darkened considerably before returning to their former bright, bright green as he grinned happily. "I just don't trust the snake, I'm fine with anyone else looking at them, I'd prefer Jiraiya to be honest, he'd understand my jokes, but Orochimaru just makes my skin crawl in that oh-so-unclean way that says he's into small children."

One of the ANBU choked and Minato had to fight off the twitching of his own lips.

Unknown to everyone else, Orochimaru had gone pale behind the observation screen while Jiraiya practically howled with laughter and fell over, pounding his fist onto the floor as tears tracked down his cheeks. Tsunade shot her Teammates a wary look, especially Orochimaru, she'd let him babysit Nawaki before his death... he had better not have...

Minato stuck his hand out for the Seal, "Very well. I will have Jiraiya look at them along with Shikaku and Kakashi, Tsunade-sama will take a blood sample from both of you and examine... the child." He couldn't bring himself to say his name, he didn't know if he was right to disbelieve or wrong but until he knew for certain it was neither yay or nay.

Harry nodded with a smile, "Sounds reasonable." He thought about asking her to look at his Chakra as well but opted to do that once he had been accepted into the village, he didn't want it to count against him.

* * *

_May 11th _

_**Obito's Status is good. I called in a few favours from school friends and people during the war to help out, Madam Pomfrey – my old school nurse now private physician (After all, who knows the most about my medical history than the only one who ever treated me for the suicidal stupid shit I kept getting into as a kid?) she teamed up with Natalie, the head of the hospital and one of my ex-girlfriends. **_

_**The entire right side of his body was crushed, and I mean seriously crushed, his internal organs were a pulpy mass of pate! We put him under a number of status spells; I kept him alive by feeding my own Life energy with him and keeping his soul tied to his body while the girls worked. Natalie would regrow his internal organs as Poppy cleared out the mush from inside him, they'd already frozen the crushed half of his body and removed the bones so that they could be regrown as well, this way hopefully after a few agonising weeks that he won't be conscious for his body will be practically as good as new.**_

_**Sadly, his left eye was missing, surgically removed, I think Iwa may have gotten it so if you're reading this now – whoever is Hokage at this point – then you'd best be prepared to see someone using it on the field. Anyway. I'm going to see if I can't call in some other favours, see if I can't replace Obito's eye, one of my old school teachers had an eye that could see through stuff a full 360-degrees and even detect people hidden under invisibility spells and the like. Useful for a Shinobi I figure.**_

_**Harry.**_

* * *

_April 13th _

_Obito here. Harry-san has been taking good care of me, he seems like a total mother hen though, but he's cool about it. Got me a whole bunch of books and translated them for me to read so I won't get bored cooped up in my room all day, my body's still too weak to go out and do anything and my depth perception is out of wack, its annoying but at least I still managed to nail him in the back of the head with a book._

_He's cooking right now, he said we were having stir-fry but he didn't say what kind of stir-fry it was, which I'm a bit excited about, he's a good cook, I shouldn't be surprised though, he lives on his own. But he's got three dogs, Jack is up here with me right now asleep on the floor by the door, they aren't as smart as the Inuzuka dogs but they're just as loyal and there are more varieties of them here as well. I've been looking through some of the culture books Harry gave me as well, this place is so big, there are so many countries, traditions, languages, cultures, this place is incredible and their history is so old and cool. Did you know there was an almost mass genocide in a place call Germany? Some psycho was trying to get rid of everyone he didn't consider pure enough by sending them to these military camps where they were killed, over a million people died! That's more people than the population of Fire Country on the whole! And that's just a fraction of the people who died in this war!_

_When the Outside has a war, it's a damn big one and it gets really _really _nasty._

* * *

_**Obito's unconscious again. Guess I pushed his training a bit too hard, or maybe I just hit him a bit too hard. Oh well, at least he'll live. He's really got to learn how to sort his emotions out though, maybe Occlumency? It's the art of shielding and controlling your mind, ordering your memories and emotions so they don't end up controlling you, usually works too if you're good enough. Considering the Sharingan's capabilities, it would probably be a good idea to teach him how to dull and remove certain memories as well.**_

_**The brain is like a giant computer, it only has so much space inside of it, the brain automatically dulls and fades memories to keep space open for new ones, the Sharingan **_**burns** _**the memories into the neural pathways, not only making dulling them next to impossible but also damaging the brain in the long term. No wonder most Uchiha go crazy as they get older, it should probably be made mandatory that the Sharingan should only be used on Missions and in life or death situations followed immediately by a trip to a Medic Nin to heal those burned neural pathways. Using Occlumency to retain the Jutsu Knowledge helps too, even more so if you write them down and **_**then** _**decide to dull the memory.**_

_**Unpleasant historical records place the Uchiha Clan as direct descendants of the individual who created the Kyuubi no Kitsune, thus meaning that the eldest of the family has control over the Kitsune via an evolved form of the Sharingan. **_

_**Ah, don't mind me, just thinking onto paper. Anyway, keep a close eye on the Uchiha clan Hokage-san, betrayal and death are in their blood. It took 90,000 souls and the destruction of an entire continent in one of the most forbidden Blackest Rituals known to my people to create the Kitsune. **_

_**Not all Uchiha are bad, but not all of them are good either, some kind of madness runs in their veins due to how badly the Ritual warped at Morainn.**_

* * *

Jiraiya's eyes widened at the included copy of a photograph showing an extremely old tablet in a language he didn't understand, but the Sharingan symbol and the carving of the fox-demon cemented it in his mind, he turned to one of the ANBU guards.

"Get Minato in here. Now." He ordered, watching as the other nin vanished in a puff of smoke before turning his attention back to the journals, ignoring Obito's entries for a later date and hunting through for Harry's. He seemed to have the most insightful commentary on things, important things, things that Jiraiya wouldn't mind sitting down with him over a cup of warm sake to discuss.

Minato arrived not long later and the white haired Sannin wordlessly handed over the journal with that particular page watching his face as he scanned through the information, the ever so slight tightening of his eyes being the only thing that gave him away, "Are we certain of this?" He asked.

Jiraiya sighed, "Yup, Shikaku just checked the Uchiha Clan records in your private library. Uchiha Madara is the last reported Uchiha having control over the Kyuubi no Kitsune and he _did_ have an advanced form of the Sharingan, there was also a footnote in the original agreement for their entrance into Konoha. A member of the clan with the Sharingan was allowed to kill _one_ person from Konoha without reprisal or punishment. Just the one."

Minato scowled darkly, "What for?" He bit out, "Why?"

"My best bet... Mangekyou Sharingan. The evolved form, it requires a severe emotionally distressing event to awaken it, slaughtering your best friend or lover or teacher would be right up their alley to activate something like the Mangekyou." The Toad Sage explained as he sat back in his seat, "Also, when Kushina-chan arrived here in Konoha with news of Uzugakure no Sato's destruction, I took a look there as well... a lot of the houses had been torched with black fire, there's only one technique capable of that, Amaterasu of the Mangekyou. Not only that but the temple in the centre of the Village, the walls were filled with murals of the nine Bijuu, murals that are in a remarkably similar style to this." He showed the photograph of the Nibi Mural that Harry had found within the Mayan Temple and also within one of the Egyptian Tombs. "This is too elaborate for a deception Minato, he couldn't have had access to the Hokage's library, we have ANBU on it 24/7 also, you can tell these murals were aged naturally by the flaking of the stone and how they are sun bleached, you can't acquire that with chemicals of any nature."

The Hokage sighed, "True. But I can't allow him to just run around the village unchecked. I'm going to have to approach the Council and get a consensus on how to deal with him and the information he's given us. As for the Uchiha Clan..." He huffed and scrubbed a hand through his hair, when they found out that Obito was alive they were going to start foaming at the mouth for Kakashi to return his Sharingan eye, when they found out that Harry had replaced Obito's Sharingan they would demand he and everyone he knew put to death to protect the secrets of their Doujutsu but when they discovered that now their Kage, the Sannin and the majority of the ANBU corps as well as who knew how many Outsiders were aware of their darkest most deeply buried secret they would have a collective conniption fit. But Minato couldn't just leave this blank, he wasn't like Hizuren-sama, he couldn't take the passive route, that was what had allowed Danzou to put forward his efforts into Ne, which reminded him. "Forget the Uchiha for a second, I want extra guards on both Obito and our foreign guest, I don't want Danzou anywhere near him. And secure their belongings as well." He added, he didn't know how to get in them but he couldn't risk the one-armed annoyance doing something to them that prevented their guests from getting into them and thus pissing them off as well. The fountain of information that Harry was proving to be was too good to pass up, they couldn't risk alienating him anymore than they already had. But then again, they also needed a way to control him.

Why had Hizuren asked him to be Hokage again?

Let Orochimaru have the headache, he wanted to be a front-line Jounin again. Not so much paperwork. Blegh.

* * *

Harry hummed a cheerful ditty under his breath as he lounged around in his cell, it was a lot more comfortable than the one he'd woken up in, he'd been transferred while he'd slept to a more secure facility. How did he know?

Because he'd woken up half way through and then proceeded to hump the ANBU carrying him until the man dropped him out of shock and disgust, Harry laughed himself shitless as he picked himself up off the floor and the ANBU picked him up again. It was funny because Harry knew this ANBU also happened to be Inuzuka Tsume's husband and father of her children Hana, and the recently new born Kiba.

Right now, he was driving his ANBU guards insane by humming songs from his own country and occasionally singing the lyrics, lyrics they didn't know or understand, which was funny because the one in the rabbit mask, a vein in his left hand would twitch every time Harry started a different tune as if he wanted nothing more than to strangle him. So Harry kept singing, pondering just how long it would take for them to crack.

An hour and a half later, he was still wondering and getting rather bored, now, anyone on Team Bambie would know that Swift getting board was generally a _very_ bad thing, anyone from Hogwarts would have already been making for the Bomb Shelter when he started to hum Love me Dead by Ludo.

The ANBU...... they didn't have that luxury.

Thankfully, they were saved from something truly humiliating when a certain Uchiha burst into the room, red faced and furious, Harry blinked lazily and stared at him.

"S'up." He greeted the 15-year-old, enjoying the way his Magical Eye was making the ANBU twitch again as it swivelled in top speeds in its socket, even Minato – who had been following behind the Chuunin – looked a little nauseous. "What got your knickers in a knot?" He asked.

"My own _CLAN!_ They! They! They want you dead! They want to rip Kakashi's eye out! When I told them that they couldn't they pitched a fit! Uncle Fugaku nearly skewered me with a Kunai!" At this Harry sat up, his whole demeanour changed, something that made the ANBU twitch again and Minato's eyes narrow, "They _banished_ me and tried to get my Sharingan sealed! They can't do that! If they try it I'll leave!"

"Whoa, wait up there Sparky. They _banished_ you? You have no family name, no home?" He asked voice surprisingly calm.

The Uchiha growled and huffed in anger, "Yes! Even my own mother refuses to talk to me now! The only ones who did were Aunty Mikoto, Shisui-chan and Itachi-chan, but now they're not even allowed to do that! Uncle Fugaku smacked Shisui for speaking to me."

Green eyes narrowed and for a split second Minato could have sworn a Killing Intent the likes of which he had never felt saturated the room before the darkness seemingly lifted, a bright sunny smile appearing on the foreigner's face.

"Well then, how about you take one of my names? I honestly have too many. Take your pick, Evans, Black, Gryffindor, Slytherin or you could team up with me and take Potter; all of the names except Evans will pretty much guarantee you royalty status back home if you wanna go." He chirped happily, clapping his hands together cheerfully. Minato had to repress a snort, they'd cast Obito out with the intention of making him a name-less nobody, this was going to really piss them off, especially when they found out that it practically made Obito royalty in another country.

The 15-year-old took a deep breath and promptly crossed the room to hug his brother and calm down, "Dunno. Guess I can take Black, it translates the easiest." It didn't hurt that the Black Family also had a talent for Fire manipulation either.

"Excellent. So, aside from your relatives pitching a fit like a five-year-old, what else happened?" Harry asked ruffling the boy's hair as he relaxed back in his seat, releasing him.

"Well, Minato-sensei explained your findings about the Sharingan, the whole place erupted into a riot, several people want to meet you and like I said, Uncle and the Uchiha Clan as an almost whole want you dead. Orochimaru-sama offered to take you into his home and observe you," Obito didn't laugh at the dark look on his brother's face, he knew that if the Sannin so much as touched Harry he would be transfigured into something small and squishy and there would be nothing anyone could do to stop him from killing the Snake Sannin, "But I talked him out of it, but he did get really fidgety when I mentioned you could talk to snakes."

Obito cringed when dark eyes focused on him with almost inhuman sharpness, "What." Harry demanded, his tone menacing.

The Uchiha swallowed and began to speak quickly in English, "_I told them that you could speak Snake, they wanted to know what you had against Orochimaru-sama and I told them that the Snake Summons weren't happy and then they asked how you knew and I told them. I didn't think it mattered since Orochimaru-sama was planning on fighting you anyway and if they knew about you speaking snake it wouldn't be such a big deal later._" He rushed, well aware that he was beginning to sweat and completely unable to move, he'd forgotten that while his 'brother' was a general oddball who loved life and screwing around with peoples heads, he was also an extremely powerful man who had seen the worst of humanity and laughed at it, he was a sadist of the worst sort.

Harry sighed and waved a hand, Obito's whole body crumpled as the paralysis wore off, Minato catching him before he hit the ground, "_Wonderful. Now I'm going to have to avoid him more than Ginny_."

"_I still don't get any you hate him so much! Why Harry! What's he ever done to you? I just BSed the Council, I deserve an explanation!_" Obito shouted, again in English, confusing the guards, Harry's eyes snapped to him and he got to his feet, Minato shifted protectively in front of his student but the green eyed male scoffed and flicked his hand, sending Minato and his ANBU to the walls and sticking them there under a silencing charm as he approached the angry Uchiha.

"_You're right. You do deserve an explanation because now you're in just as much Demon crap as I am. You want to know why I hate Orochimaru, fine. His soul is _black_._" Obito blinked uncomprehendingly, "_Remember when I told you Death likes me? He and I go way back, so when I say I don't like someone, it's because there is a damn fucking good reason, even if I myself don't know it yet. His soul is black, that is reason enough for me to hate him, even Voldemort's soul wasn't black, there wasn't enough of it left to _be _black, but Orochimaru... that's a dark, dark shade and I don't want you anywhere near him. Understood?_" He hissed, almost slipping into Parselmouth in his anger, Obito nodded fearfully, finally understanding at least a little bit, about Harry instant like or dislike of certain individuals.

"Good." Harry was back in Japanese, "Sorry about that Minato-san, ANBU-chans, didn't want you interfering." He announced, waving a hand and allowing them to pop free and speak properly.

"W-what was that?" One of the ANBU blurted out, her training not being quite able to stop her.

"B-rank Jutsu from home. Don't worry, corresponds with a communal Kekkei Genkai, none of you have it so there isn't any chance of anyone learning it. Sorry."

"And what Kekkei Genkai is that?" Minato asked, now genuinely curious.

Harry grinned and promptly morphed into Hart – his Deer form, watching Minato's face in enjoyment before morphing back with a cheeky grin on his face.

"The ability to deny every known law of Reality."

* * *

**Due to a few things in Real Life, such as catching flu, getting a severe ear infection and then my department at work spazzing out over the snow and Network Rail being dicks I haven't had the time to write the next chapters of Distance or Black Birds. So there are only updates for A Mile in Your Eyes, Lightning on the Wave and Resonance. **

**I'm really really sorry. **


	8. Chapter 8

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

Harry stretched happily, relishing the sunlight that soaked warmth into his body, he'd been stuck in that cell for the past two weeks while the Village Council argued and pissed in the wind about him and the Intelligence Department went over the journals with a fine tooth-comb. Jiraiya had visited him a number of times and the two had made fast friends over perverted jokes, literature, insane exploits and the Jutsus Harry had written in the back of the notebooks, Tsunade had popped in as well to talk to him about the treatments he'd given Obito, she'd examined him and was now determined to get her hands on some of their medicines and Spells. Harry didn't mind telling her what he knew but medicine wasn't his forte, as a Parselmouth sure he could have been a damn good Healer, but being the Lord Avatar of Death kind of put a crimp in that.

Orochimaru had dropped in just the once, only once, he had tried to get Harry to speak to him about his Parselmouth abilities only to have the dark haired male simply Apparate out of the room and right back into the main interrogation cell. Just in time to see Ibiki break an Iwa Nin's fingers, the two looked at him in confusion; Harry remembered grinning and shrugging a shoulder.

"_Don't mind me. Just avoiding Orochi-chan. Don't mind if I watch do you, Ibiki-san?_" and if any of the ANBU present noticed the prisoner screamed a lot more every time Harry's finger flicked, they didn't comment on it until they had to write a report.

Now, finally, Minato had grown irritated with the Council's usual guff, he'd had Inoichi dig through the man's mind – he seemed perfectly accommodating if you actually _asked_ – he'd had Jiraiya and Shikaku go over everything with a fine tooth comb and questioned the man himself before releasing him from the interrogation department. Aside from his irrational hatred of Orochimaru and his outright disdain of most Kekkei Genkai users, he seemed perfectly fine, a little insane but could he really say his Jounin were the picture of mental health?

The problem now was finding a place for them to live and getting some ANBU guards to watch them without getting found out themselves – Harry-san was disturbingly good at finding the people who were observing him, not only that, but recognising them as well.

Minato sighed, watching the two dark heads of hair from his window in the Hokage's office, he had allowed them out around the village for a little bit, just to get some sunlight but after a while he would have to find a place for them. The blonde stiffened slightly as the door to his office burst open, it was only reflexes that prevented him from smacking a _Rasengan_ into the gut of the woman he loved as she marched in.

She was a diminutive woman at 5'3" in height, she had lightly tanned skin characteristic of her people, her hair was a rich dark crimson colour that hung to her waist in a straight fall, flicking in slightly around her face from where she hadn't pinned back her long bangs, her features weren't what one would call 'classically' beautiful, her jaw was a bit too square for that and her eyes put that tiny bit too far apart, but right now those pale teal green eyes were spitting fire at him. She wore a simple dark burnt orange-red dress that hung to her knees; her feet clad in typical Shinobi sandals with a white long sleeved top under the dress. Her slightly pouting baby belly being the reason for the fact she wasn't in her full Chuunin uniform – he was well aware that she could have been a Jounin but the woman in question liked kids and preferred being an Academy Teacher.

"Namikaze Minato, you had better have a good reason for this!" Uzumaki Kushina barked, slamming a slender calloused hand on his desk. The blonde man blinked at her in confusion, what had he done this time? His wife was generally laid back when it came to the serious things like breaking her mother's china or forgetting about a date or an assassination attempt, but it was the little things like leaving the toilet seat up or not doing the dishes that had her frothing mad.

He would never admit it out loud, but sometimes he purposely didn't do such things just so she would come marching to the office and burst in, just like now.

The woman brandished an empty packet under his nose and he suddenly knew what this was all about, curse his wife's love of all things unhealthy.

Minato sighed and resigned himself to a scolding for eating the last packet of beef ramen.

* * *

Green clashed with black.

Silence.

A vein twitched, a tendon tensed.

Black turned to red, white teeth flashed.

Uchiha Fugaku glared for all he was worth at the smiling face of the Outsider who stood so brazenly in front of him, his disgraced and _banished_ nephew stood uncertainly beside him.

"I'm just sayin'," the man continued, as if Fugaku wasn't wishing a painful death the likes of which he had never seen before onto him, "Its his stuff by legal rights, his K.I.A. status has been revoked meaning everything is his again," he announced brightly.

"It's alright Harry, I don't need it," the Traitor muttered, shooting an antsy look at the Military Police hovering around them with unpleasant looks on their faces.

"It doesn't matter whether you need them or not, it's the principle of the matter Obi-chan," the green eyed menace announced, never removing his eyes from Fugaku's, "They kicked you out of the Clan because you survived a war, refused to handicap a superior officer, refused to dishonour the clan by taking _back_ a gift, and because you found a way around that which threatens _all_ Doujutsu users, the loss of their eyes. Well, I figure that means '_Open Season_' on all Uchihas'. Starting with the return of your property, and then the statement of fact that all the techniques I taught you are completely incapable of being copied by the Sharingan, meaning this clan of lazy ass jutsu thieves can' –

Harry yelped and kicked his back leg up, a wall of solid earth snapping up and deflecting the kick that one of the military police aimed for his back, he pouted, ignoring the look of shocked horror that engulfed the faces of those present – particularly those who had the Sharingan active, it wasn't exactly the same, but it was undeniably akin to that of _Senjutsu_, the Hermit Arts.

"How rude," the 23-year-old complained before clapping his hands, "_Accio Obito's possessions,_" he commanded, again, the pulse of Not!Senjutsu flared around him to the eyes of those with their Sharingans active and a split second later, several boxes came hurtling towards the group as if they were thrown Kunai. "Excellent, you didn't sell them. Well we'll be off now. Ta."

CRACK!

And they were gone.

* * *

A single dark eyebrow rose at the chaos running rampant through the Uchiha compound, that little display was most interesting. The move at the end, that wasn't speed... that was instantaneous.

Orochimaru smirked, his sickeningly long prehensile tongue running across his lips with glee.

He had found his first Vessel.

* * *

Jiraiya howled with laughter, banging his fist on the bar and almost knocking over the jug of sake if it had not been saved by a certain Wizard's quick reflexes – being a veteran of Gryffindor Eating Habits came in handy around Jiraiya.

It had been a month since he and Obito had been released from Interrogation, Jiraiya had offered them room and board at his small house on the outskirts of the Village until Minato could get them something and they'd ended up moving within three days to a small Apartment on the East Side not too far from the hospital.

Obito had been reinstated as a Chuunin and had his records changed to show his new last name '_Buraku_' in Katakana. The Uchiha continued to froth at the mouth over their mere existence and it only really became a problem when they started trying to pin almost every crime onto them, it got to the point when Harry quite calmly marched over to Uchiha Fugaku, paralysed him and then lifted a flame writhed arm and ever so calmly explained that he really didn't want to make an enemy in him because he could kill him and no one would _ever_ find the body and if he persisted in trying to have Obito and himself executed on a trumped up charge that had nothing to do with them then the results would be entirely _not_ to his liking.

Harry ended up getting scolded quite thorough by Minato who then sat back and stated that, off the record, they deserved it but he still wasn't allowed to do it again. Harry pouted, whined and wheedled but the blonde was unmoving, and then his wife burst in, nearly giving Harry a heart attack thinking that Ginny had found him. Minutes later, Harry and Kushina were chatting over tea as if they'd known each other for the last decade while Minato looked confused and busied himself with his paperwork shivering and wondering just why he felt a cold rush of something that screamed '_Unholy Alliance_' in his head.

All in all, it had been a promising start, Harry had expected some rigorous torture to go with his interrogation, maybe a bit of psychological mind rape but hey he wasn't complaining.

At the moment, he and Jiraiya-san were down at a local Shinobi bar called the '_Exploding Cat_', no doubt named by a disgruntled Genin who remembered one too many missions to hunt down the Daimyou's troublesome feline. They were exchanging stories about their childhood exploits, Harry carefully kept any and all mention of his relatives' abuse out of the conversation, he got the feeling that Jiraiya wouldn't care anyway so no point in bringing it up. Right now he was telling the story of his Hogwarts Letter and the whole debacle of that, the older white haired male was fairly wetting himself on the barstool at his Uncle's reaction to all the letters zooming down the chimney and sheering his moustache off.

Obito was off doing a D-rank mission babysitting Inuzuka Tsume's children, he'd brought Lady and Jack with him so they could meet with the dogs there, Harry wasn't entirely sure about that, he knew Lady would be going into heat soon and didn't want to encourage anything just yet. He still wasn't entirely certain about how a Nin Dog would... well; he didn't want Lady getting hurt by the pregnancy or birth. Charu had found himself a home in with the Hokage's messenger Hawks and was quickly becoming known as a fast and reliable bird capable of finding anyone as opposed to just being able to fly from location to location.

If Harry noticed Orochimaru watching him like a creepy OCD-stalker (which he did) he didn't bring it up, or drink the dish of sake in front of him, even though he really, _really_ wanted to. He didn't want to leave himself open for the Snake freak to snatch, instincts were a lovely thing when he paid attention to them.

"T-t-then, Hagrid just turns around and tells my uncle that _no one_ disrespects Dumbledore-hakase in front of him, he then turns to my cousin who was trying to steal the cake and turned him into a _pig!_" the two of them broke down into raucous laughter yet again, Jiraiya pounding the table, tears rolling down his cheeks. Harry sighed happily as he leaned back, "Ahh, the good old days. When Magic was just a means of making my uncle turn purple at the sight of me," he giggled nastily.

Jiraiya chuckled from where he was sprawled out across the bar, "What else could you do with it?" he asked out of curiosity.

Harry shrugged, "Oh loads of stuff. Most of it completely useless unless you have a bit of imagination," this was said with a wink and a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows, making Jiraiya snort with laughter again. His face took on a wistful look, "Used to be able to fly, I miss that now, feeling the wind in your hair. But my broom got trashed and I haven't had the heart to replace it. Could screw with time too, in my third year, my best friend Hermione decided to take _every_ single class available, she needed something we called a Time Turner so she could make it to all of them, it's a little device that can send you back in time a few hours at a time. I did see a few larger ones that could go back years, someone stuck his head in one and while his body stayed the same age, his head turned into that of an infant's. It was way gross."

Jiraiya stared at him, "They let a thirteen year old play with a time travelling device just so she could get to class on time?" he asked incredulously.

Harry nodded, "Yup. Course they neglected to inform her of the dangers beyond creating paradoxes and various other things that make my brain go 'owies' to contemplate. They never explained to her that prolonged use creates mental and magical fatigue and if you let it get bad enough you'll loose your magic and destroy your mind," he shook his head and glared into his drink, ignoring Jiraiya as memories began to crowd his mind, "They were probably hoping for it to be honest. Hermione is what we call a 'muggleborn', her parents didn't have Magic. So those who have long family lines of having magic – kinda like your Kekkei Genkai Clans – think she's lower than dirt, that she has dirty blood, that she doesn't belong and she should be put to death. I can't tell you how many times we've had to arrest someone for attempting to start _another_ genocide. Its ridiculous, especially for her, she's the brightest witch of our age, I mean, if she were a pureblood, with that kind of intellect, she would have been bumped up to Minister of Magic already. But no. She's a muggleborn; the best she can hope for is either a research position in my department, or her current teaching job at our old school," he made an irritated sound in the back of his throat, not noticing the way his drink was now beginning to bubble and boil.

Jiraiya eyed the drink nervously and then the young man causing it, "So that's why you left?" he asked, trying to change the subject before the drink exploded.

"No," Harry bit out, "I left because Obito needed to return and I wasn't going to let him face the Interrogation Department on his own, and especially not the Uchiha Clan on his own." he didn't mention the other reason, the one where he didn't want to be everyone's Weapon/Martyr/Saviour, it was enough to drive a man to drink, he just wanted to be left _alone_. "Bah, enough of this depressing crap! So, have you _ever_ got with Tsunade? Or is that an unrequited love stench I keep choking on when you two are in the same room?" he demanded shoving the white haired man playfully.

* * *

In the shadows, Orochimaru digested what he could understand of that conversation, not having been around Harry for very long – the youth always seemed to be able to pinpoint his position, and judging by the way he hadn't drunk the spiked sake, he knew he was here even now but couldn't call him on it because of Jiraiya – meaning he didn't understand half of what was said. But it did give him a little insight into their foreign guest and the culture he came from.

The Snake Sannin sat back and listened to the argument/conversation in front of him with a small smirk as Jiraiya was mercilessly teased by the green eyed Vessel – and really, he did like the colour green, perhaps he would endeavour to keep those eyes when he made the transfer? – as he tried to defend himself and his manliness.

He failed miserably, but that was funny too.

* * *

Green eyes blinked, "Erm, Obito... what's with the fanclub?" Harry asked in confusion at the group of people trailing along after his younger brother.

He blushed and scratched at his head, "Well, they were all curious about your abilities and what you'd taught me, I tried to get away from them but..." he shrugged a shoulder, "I'm not good enough to escape Jounin yet," he admitted wryly as Kushina waved from where she was attached to Minato's arm, probably to stop him from challenging Harry to a spar.

The green eyed wizard sighed but waved it away, "Alright, all of you not fighting, get your asses to the side, this is an elemental practice so there will be fireballs, lightning, mud, wind and ice flying around," he warned before folding his arms and waiting for the group of Jounin – which he irritably noticed several Uchiha being a part of, for a moment he thought about sending them away before an evil grin came to mind. "Alright Obito, this is going to be full out. You'd better not pull _any_ punches, because I most certainly will not."

He smirked when the boy went paper white but nodded and settled into his stance, Harry nodded, it was good, his weight perfectly balanced for attacking and defending. Now for the warm up.

The Shinobi on the side lines watched as Harry shifted his weight ever so slightly and was suddenly in front of Obito, fist sunk wrist deep into the boy's stomach, sending him flying backwards with a painful grunt. Minato's grip on his wife tightened for a split second as he watched his former student curl up and flip in midair, his stance shifting as he did so, a shockwave of pure air slicing out from the movement. Harry clapped his hands together and split the airwave with the tips of his fingers a split second before he spun, legs snapping out and throwing arcs of bright orange flame at the former Uchiha who jumped, twisting his body between the two arcs his fists snapping out and shooting his own fire, a darker shade of red, at the green eyed male.

Harry smirked, shifting his stance again, moving his arms in a pattern as a thick arch of solid stone enveloped and protected him, Obito cursed and jumped into the air, a mere split second before the stone arch slammed into the ground where he'd been a split second earlier.

Obito barely had a split second to land and get his guard up before Harry was slamming a kick towards his head, the two were instantly into a swift Taijutsu exchange, sweat running down Obito's face as he attempted to land hits on his older brother, only for him to turn into a cheater and switch his stance into a different style to evade and counter him. It was insufferably annoying to fight a Taijutsu expert in their own field, especially one who was capable of seamlessly shifting from one style to another and back again. He supposed he should have been grateful that Harry had neglected to bring any of his weaponry with him, gods he would have been mincemeat if he had.

"Keep. Your. Mind. In. The. _Game._" Harry grunted shifting into a stance Obito had _never_ seen before, dropping to the ground and kicking his legs out from beneath him and twisting his body as he came to his feet, foot positioned on Obito's throat. Bastard. He wasn't even out of breath.

His hand suddenly flicked and there was a sharp yelp of pain from the treeline, "Try to copy my Taijutsu again you little thief and I'll gouge your eyes out, and unlike with Obito, I won't be replacing them," he growled out, ignoring the look of stunned horror on the Uchiha's face as he pulled the icicle from his shoulder out and stared at it. No one knew what he did next but all the Uchiha in the clearing suddenly went milky eyed and dizzy before seeming to snap out of it and look around in sudden paranoia.

"What did you do?" Minato asked as he helped Obito to his feet.

Harry scowled at the place where the Copy Cat Clan had been stood a moment before, all of them having beat a hasty retreat via **Shunshin no jutsu** (_Body Flicker technique_), "I removed their burned pathways, if they want to learn this style, they're going to have to do it the hard way. I will _not_ have the hard work that Obito, myself and countless others put into these styles be spat on by those lazy bastards. Our hard work is not substance for lazy fucking geniuses. If they can be called as such," he spat, "They're not hurt, but when they try to perform those styles for their clan later, they won't be able to, I removed the imprints from their mind. They still remember the fight but that is it."

Kushina grinned wildly, "I think I love you. C'mon, let's get some ramen!" she announced gleefully, latching onto Harry's arm, ignoring the sharp look on Minato's face.

Obito grinned as the two moved off before nudging his sensei, "You and Kushina-sensei?" he asked curiously, watching as the sharp look dissolved into one of embarrassment but happiness.

"Yeah. Since I first came to pick you and Rin up from the Academy, she helped me get over your... your..."

"Death," Obito finished flatly before patting his sensei's shoulder, "Never took you for the jealous type sensei. But don't worry; she looks too much like his mother and Ginny to do anything like that with her," he grinned slyly, "You should be more worried about yourself or Jiraiya-jichan," he admitted before following after the group grinning at the look on Minato-sensei's face. Guaranteed, he would be keeping an eye on Jiraiya-sama and Harry-nii whenever they went out drinking, even though he didn't like to drink much.

* * *

CRACK!

Orochimaru growled irritably to himself, that was the eighth time he'd missed his little green eyed Vessel in the last month!

It was insufferable!

There he was, displaying that power – the power that Orochimaru should have, needed to have – brazenly, tauntingly but never letting him get close enough to just grab him up and steal him away. Oh the things he could do with that body, physically he was a fine specimen, without the same muscle mass as a Shinobi and smaller Chakra Coils – low Chuunin level – but with a control greater than that of Tsunade, and his mysterious power and knowledge of weaponry and Taijutsu. He salivated and hardened at the thought of obtaining that delicious package of raw power and skill.

But, he could never get even _close_ to the man.

He practised Taijutsu and the occasional Ninjutsu in the same place but whenever he was going to use one of his unique abilities he always vanished and found somewhere else to practice out of the way where no Uchiha could watch and Orochimaru couldn't even find him. He'd attempted to get the boy arrested so he could steal him away but that hadn't worked after he'd threatened Fugaku most convincingly, Jiraiya wouldn't hear a word against his newest drinking buddy, Tsunade would listen and then shoot everything he said down. The only person willing to listen was Council Man Danzou, the old war hawk; he was interested in getting the man into his interrogation department and ripping him a new one. He wanted to know everything about his society and whether or not Konoha would be capable of conquering them, Orochimaru said no, he'd seen the man practising some of his foreign techniques with a stick as a focus, he'd turned a tree into a dragon, an honest to god fire breathing, flying, vicious as you please, dragon. What was there to say that none of the others could as well?

He could get close to the boy's former Uchiha student, but even so, he too seemed to be picking up on his teacher's dislike of him and his sharp senses also, the 15-year-old Chuunin avoided him also.

What was worse, his sweet little Apprentice Miterashi Anko had begun to notice his strange fixation with the foreigner and she'd made a passing comment about it to her Jounin mother, a mother who then mentioned it to her co-worker Hatake Kakashi, who took it directly to the Hokage. Now, he found the eyes on him were just that little bit more intense. It was making him antsy.

Perhaps he should make some back-up plans, in case this doesn't work. He didn't get to where he was today by being foolish – that was Jiraiya's shtick, not his.

Yes, a back-up plan.

* * *

**Finito.**

**I'm sure you'll all be pleased to note that I now have a FACEBOOK account.**

**Just, remember, when you add me, that unless you say why/where you're coming from then I'm not going to accept you. I hate Facebook whores who only add people to make their friends' lists bigger, so unless you say, I'm not going to confirm you.**

**8DD it'll have regular updates regarding my stories and it'll also have pictures on there as well.**

My Aunty Alison is fucking EPIC! Instead of getting me jewellery for my 21st like everyone else is doing – she's getting me a KICK ASS printer, scanner, photocopier, photo-uploader and USB port ALL IN ONE. And it's _Wireless_ too! Dad's getting me some decent photoshop programmes as well!

I cannot wait for April!

**Review pleasums!**

Araceil


	9. Chapter 9

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Green eyes blinked.

"You're naming your son... '_Fishcake_'?" he asked incredulously, staring at Namikaze Minato agog.

He coloured and glowered at the foreigner, "No! '_Maelstrom_'! Not Fishcake," he snapped, Harry leaned back, hands held defensively in front of him, chopsticks balanced between his fingers.

In the past four months, Harry and Minato had become friends, the dark haired male providing the perfect balance for the stressed and slightly uptight blonde haired man, Minato often found himself escaping to Harry and Obito's apartment when things got just that little bit too stressful. Quick **Kage Bunshin** (_Shadow Clone_) and he was out of the window and knocking on their front door or showing up at their training grounds, he didn't dare go and visit Kushina, with her pregnancy being so far along her mood swings were unstable and he didn't want to snap at her because of his own bad mood. With Harry, he tended to give as good as he got while Obito simply stood back and watched the fireworks. Things had only degenerated into fists the once, it was hard to say who won but it was pretty much decided that it was Minato who got that one, even if he was nursing a pair of bruised balls and a black eye, while Harry had a dislocated shoulder and a broken tooth – swig of Skellegrow had that grown back by the next morning.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm still rusty with this language you know! It's a bit frustrating for there to be eight meanings to each word depending on how you spell it," he pointed out before giving Minato a shove, almost knocking him off his stool, they'd decided to grab a meal at Ichiraku before heading back to the Hokage's residence where Kushina would be waiting with yakitori fried salmon fillets and celery gravy – Harry had warned him about the odd cravings thing hence the food before hand, that way they could discreetly dispose of the food and not have their growling stomachs give them away. "You excited about the little tyke?" he asked with a grin.

Minato nodded, "Yeah. And I'm a little scared, I mean, just by being my son there are going to be thousands of people who want him dead," he admitted guiltily, staring down at his ramen broth.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Oh stop brooding," he ordered, yanking on a blonde sideburn, "that's for angsty teenagers and Kakashi," he reprimanded before smirking and slurping a few noodles down. "You forget, he'll have you for a dad and Kushina for a mom and Jiraiya and Tsunade for a grandpa and grandma. Not to mention Kakashi and Obito as brothers, me as the crazy Uncle and ANBU as his dysfunctional over-protective cousins. He'll be fine. Heck, he'll probably take over the Hokage position before you get your first grey hair!" he teased, picking at the Hokage's blonde hair with a wicked grin as he yanked on a few.

Minato snorted, fears abated for now, "Yeah. Thanks Harii."

"No prob," the dark haired male announced slurping down more of his noodles. "Gave the same speech to Ron when he was having kittens over his little girl's birth, scared shitless that some of the old Death Eater factions would attempt to do away with her. One time they tried Hermione literally ripped them to shreds, you don't fuck with a momma, especially when said momma can turn into a lioness. It's just not done."

Minato laughed.

* * *

"HE'S NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!"

"SHIFT YOUR ASS!"

Minato stared at his predecessor outside the busy operating room, Harii had been called in there not too long ago to see if there was _anything_ he could do, almost immediately when he entered the room the boy's vitals – though weak – became steady. The Medic Nins were still panicking because they were _too_ weak, they would just fade but there was something odd about the way Harii was reacting he was silent as he worked, occasionally batting away a Medic while he and Tsunade worked on the eleven-year-old.

Now, Hizuren had just broken the news to him and his blood had run cold.

It was Orochimaru.

Orochimaru who had been behind the mysterious disappearances of Civilian children and Academy drop-outs all along, he had taken them into the basement of the old ANBU headquarters, abandoned and condemned and turned into a laboratory where he experimented upon them. Rooms upon rooms of children, dead, decomposing and mutilated by the horrific experiments, a regular little petshop of horrors, but one lived. One child survived and that was the one they were now trying to rescue.

He was saved from responding when the door opened and a familiar blonde woman stepped out, her face grave.

"Well?" Hizuren demanded, brown eyes desperate, "Will the child live?"

She nodded, "Yes, he will live. But... his Chakra..." she bit her lips, tears threatening to spill, "It resonates with my necklace. O-Oro-Orochimaru was trying to c-create a c-clone o-of my _grandfather_!"

The two Kages' stared in stunned horror; to create the Mokuton via cloning... they had never even heard of it. "So... he isn't a traitor... he was just trying to revive our greatest bloodline?" Minato asked.

"_No,_" it was Harii, his eyes dark, and his voice disturbingly demonic in tenor, causing the three Shinobi to startle, "It was for his own gain. His soul is black Minato, that kind of evil is only ever self serving. He tortured and murdered those children for his own twisted desire to gain power, and he will be back, he desires the Sharingan now that he believes Mokuton is beyond him, he also desires my power, though he will never be able to claim it."

"How?" Hizuren demanded desperately, "How would he claim those powers?"

Harii stared at him impassively, "Soul Cancer," he stated simply, "He is in the process of creating an immortality Jutsu that involves stealing people bodies and poisoning their Souls, thus stealing their Jutsus, their knowledge, their Kekkei Genkais, everything that makes them, them, it absorbed into him and corrupted to his desires."

"How do you know?" Tsunade asked coldly.

"The Yamanka aren't the only ones capable of reading minds. I never said anything because you would have never believed me, and my speed and strength are no where near capable enough to handle a S-ranked Ninja on my own, magic or no," he stated firmly stepping back as Tsunade's fist came within inches of his face, "You expect me to deal with you guys thinking I'm an enemy again simply because you can't believe that one of your precious genius Kekkei Genkai carriers is capable of being a traitor!" he suddenly shouted, startling the blonde woman before she could hit him again as he stepped into her personal space, "Get real! If I'd come to you with my suspicions you would have thrown me into Ibiki and let him have a parade and then what! I don't like getting tortured; you wouldn't have an interrogation department left when I got through with it," he hissed malevolently before turning and walking away, "I'm going to help Jiraiya catch the son-uva-bitch. Argue amongst yourselves about how to inform all those families that their beloved Snake Freak murdered all their children."

CRACK!

* * *

No one ever mentioned Orochimaru around Harry ever again.

Especially after he found out that little Anko-chan had been kidnapped during his escape of Konohagakure no Sato – Minato and Tsunade were still wary over the fact that the Chakra the radiated from him had been a deep, menacing black in colour, the kind of darkness that swallowed sunlight.

There had been a number of arguments between Harry and Minato following the escape, mostly over Orochimaru, Tenzou – the young boy they rescued – and his Black Chakra. Harry said they needed to go after him and rescue Anko, Minato said it was too big of a risk, especially when they didn't know where he was. Minato wanted Tenzou to live in the Orphanage, Harry stuck his foot down and declared that it wasn't happening or _he_ would take the young boy in. Then came the argument about the Black Chakra, that one ended in a fight that _destroyed_ Minato's office and ended with the two in the river, breathing hard and insulting one another's hair.

Jiraiya stated that if Harii had been female, that would have been a great chapter for his Icha Icha books – Kushina and Tsunade punched him through the wall and Harry just blinked before he laughed while Minato went an amusing shade of pink.

Tenzou moved in with Harry, Obito and the dogs, he was a little hesitant at first but gradually began to warm up to the point where he could go back to the Shinobi Academy as long as either Harii or Obito was there to pick him up again.

Obito and Rin managed to hook up, much to Kakashi's relief and Harry and Minato's amusement – honestly, they'd seen that one coming from miles off – and the two were now a _very_ happy couple who, whenever off-duty, could be seen holding hands and wondering around Konoha. Obito had taken Harry as an example when it came to woo-ing the ladies/lads, he was honest with Rin and every time they met up he always made a point to bring her a flower, her favourite one when he could – white carnations – and was fast becoming known around Konoha as a real gentleman and _the_ standard that boyfriends now needed to aspire to.

Kakashi somehow ended up with an 'Eternal Rival' in the form of Maito Gai, the Green Beast of Konoha. Harii had literally fallen to the floor roaring with laughter when he heard about the 300-chin up challenge and how Kakashi lost before his natural competitive spirit flared and the two ran 60-laps around Konoha, Kakashi won. And somehow, the rivalry began. Minato shook his head as he read through the reports – disturbance of the peace – and muttered about how Kakashi was never getting rid of him now.

Little Itachi had come running into the apartment one day announcing gleefully that he had a little brother called Sasuke with a slightly older Shisui hot on his heels telling him his father would be furious if he knew they'd visited the Traitor. Obito had flinched and then smiled that horrid smile that Harry absolutely despised before telling Itachi that was great news and he had to take care of his little brother and protect him above all others, because that's why big brothers were born first, to protect the little ones who come after. The young Prodigy nodded rapidly and ran out of the little apartment again and probably back to the Compound while Shisui gave Obito a dark glare as he followed after his cousin. It took the combined efforts of Rin, a few episodes of the Animaniacs that Harry had recorded and a lot of Mango icecream before the former Uchiha was back to himself.

Things had finally been going well and then the message came through.

The North Western town of Sakurabashi had sent out their fastest messenger hawk to Konohagakure, the bird landed a bare seven hours after it had been sent, almost on the verge of heart failure.

The message was simple.

'_**THE KYUUBI IS MAKING ITS WAY TO KONOHA**_'

When the message came through, the entire Council went up in arms, Harii was called in to give as much information as possible on the threat they now had to face.

"Kyuubi is the most powerful of all the Nine Demons, over 90,000 souls were sacrificed to bring him to the state he is now," the dark haired male explained to the enraptured people in front of him, "An entire continent was rendered into a lifeless wasteland, only now, over 3000 years later is it beginning to show signs of life again. Anyway, this is what we do know about Kyuubi, it was created by a man known only as Keallach. His daughter, Morainn, became the founding member of the Uchiha Clan, she was born into a world saturated with Kyuubi's power and the blood of thousands, Keallach had sacrificed his own wife to the beast. Morainn learned how to control the Kyuubi via her Sharingan, the very base form, the Magical form Mangekyou. Now, from what Jiraiya, Minato and I have found via combing through all the records, there have only been two other Uchiha registered to have obtained this variation of the Sharingan.

"Uchiha Madara, and his younger brother," he announced gravely, not reacting as the entire room burst into shouting and debate, "_**ENOUGH!**_" silence. "We know Izuna is dead, his grave still reeks of death. But it is Madara's whereabouts that we don't know; all that we are aware of is that during his fight against the Shodaime in the Valley of End, he was able to call the Kyuubi to his aid where it was subdued through the Mokuton Kekkei Genkai. Madara's body was never found after that fight. We can only assume that he managed to survive until this day, whether or not he has found a way of prolonging his life, or if this is a way for him to destroy Konoha before the end is a non-issue.

"Kyuubi's patron element is Fire, all Fire jutsus are going to be useless, hell, they'll probably make him stronger. He is a being made of pure Chakra, he's going to absorb all the Ninjutsu you throw at him," he took a deep breath.

"How did you remove the Kyuubi from your world?" Homura asked, the Elders had been privy to the full details about the Reserve when Harry came clean about himself and his mission – he had withheld all information on the gate's whereabouts and anything on the other side.

"We... called the God of Death, Shinigami-sama," the dark haired male admitted, "Nine willing volunteers allowed him to take their souls in exchange for ripping the Bijuu out of their lives and into a small pocket void where they could never harm anything again. However, their power, combined with the energy they tore from the world, created the Hidden Countries, when my people found this out; they began to send their criminals over here. You are all descended from those people. Morainn was one of them, she had to whore herself out to survive amidst these people, no one knows who her first lover was, just that the child produced would later be the first Uchiha in name."

"How do we call the Shinigami and who should we chose to banish the beast?" Fugaku demanded, he didn't like the way the foreigner was painting his clan, even if the history was true – which he sincerely doubted it was.

Harry scowled and shook his head, "No. You... I am afraid I cannot allow that. The person has to be willing to do so, that have to volunteer or the sacrifice will mean nothing, the God of Death will not show himself for the soul of a coward. And I would not summon him just so you could throw the Kyuubi back into my world, the number of lives lost would far out-weigh the ones lost here," he was lying here, Shinigami didn't give a damn about whether the soul was willing or not, but he sure as hell did.

"Is there another way? You mentioned Jinchuuriki when you were explaining your primary mission last time you were here," Minato broke in.

"Yes, a Jinchuuriki, a demon container. A living prison for the beast. A new born infant, its umbilical cord freshly cut would be the only thing capable of holding the Kyuubi. The Ichibi Shukaku is held within a sacred urn in Suna but that is the only Bijuu capable of being held in such a fashion, the others are just too powerful," he explained tiredly, sitting down in the hard back chair that had been provided at the beginning of the meeting.

"How long do we have until the Kyuubi hits us?" Hizuren asked wearily.

"Judging by the speed of the falcon, the way that Demon is stopping to trash every town, village and settlement it can on the way... we're looking at two days. Minimum."

For the first time since the chamber had been built in Konoha's Founding, the Council sat in sombre silence.

* * *

Green eyes flickered open in tired irritation as he glowered blearily at the bandage wrapped one armed man, Ichihara Danzou he recalled the man being called, with several masked ANBU stood stoically behind him.

Deciding that the old hack wasn't going to say anything just yet, Harry took his chance to eye the room. Simple grey walls, nothing to mark the room, not even a bucket to piss in, just the chair he was sat in and a table covered with a paper covering and several trays of surgical tools arranged in size order on his right hand side. He returned his gaze to Danzou, eyeing him in disinterest, testing the metal straps that secured his hands to the uncomfortable wooden chair before sighing at the Elder.

"Is this _really_ the time for your kinky sex games?" he asked in exasperation, the ANBU and the old man didn't react, "I mean, c'mon. I know I'm hot but the night before a Demon attack and you drag me out of bed – which I take offence to y'know, my bed is a heck of a lot more comfy than this piece of splintered crap."

Danzou watched the foreigner as he continued to speak, there was something _wrong_ with this man, Black Chakra, mind reading abilities, instant teleportation, knowledge of Demons that exceeded anything any of them had, knowledge of the beginnings of the Hidden Countries and one of their most powerful clans, not to mention his ability to change his form without using **Henge no Jutsu** (_Transformation Technique_).

"You talk entirely too much stranger," he finally rasped.

"And you're entirely too ugly Danzou," he retorted with a sunny smile, the old man refused to twitch or shift uncomfortably at the knowledge of his name. He had no idea that Harry was using Legilimency to read his thoughts, those disturbingly bright alien green eyes not once leaving Danzou's own in a challenge.

Harry tilted his head and grinned ferally, lounging laconically in his seat as one of the ANBU stepped forward as if by some unspoken signal and backhanded him viciously, the black haired man's face whipped to the side with the force of the blow before he turned and grinned at the man with bloody teeth, "You hit like a girl," he taunted, spitting blood directly into the eyeholes of his mask. A little unknown fact about his blood that Harry hadn't learned until he and a Vampire had a pleasant roll in the hay, his blood was non-toxic, but when mixed with his saliva, which had also been chemically altered by the basilisk venom, became highly poisonous, almost as deadly as the original serpent who gave him the bite.

The ANBU stepped back, ignoring the unholy gleam in the stranger's eye, the man would start to scream and then attempt to rip his eyes out soon enough.

He didn't flinch as a prick in his arm signalled that a drug had been used on him, "That is a serum, it will cripple your muscles and cause uncontrollable cramping of your fingers and calves along with your neck and back the longer you refuse to speak," Danzou announced, "You will answer my questions and I will inject the antidote into you, refuse, and I will have these fine gentlemen here peel your skin back and play with your nerves until they cease to function."

"Oh you wanted me to talk? Sure," Harry chirped happily, "You're ugly, your momma even said so as I rode her like a 3 dollar whore last night," Danzou blinked, before a scowl began to darken his features, "Your cat hates you. I can understand why you're into small boys and I figure you and Orochimaru founded your own club, membership motto being 'after eight and it's too late'. Don't worry, there's a special circle reserved for you in hell. I'm not allowed to unleash farm animals in my place of employment but don't worry you'll soon understand why! I want a Pizza tree! When I say I'm the human embodiment of death I'm not kidding. I like pancakes. MELON. I don't like you. Voldemort wears panties. Your ANBU is about to die. You fail at life. _Drugs do not affect me in the least,_" he added smirking darkly as the ANBU beside Danzou abruptly started to scream, hands going over his eyes, trying to claw through the porcelain before he tore it off and began to gouge at his eyes.

Danzou's ANBU moved to attack him but the sudden flaring of Black energy around him made them step back as the iron restraints in front of them began to rust and age before just crumbling away as he stood up.

Electricity began to crackle up his body, "You fucked with the wrong person Danzou, you and your little ANBU here are going to be pumped full of so much electricity that your bodies will quite literally vaporise from the inside out."

The only thing that prevented Harry for making good on his threat was the sudden explosion that rocked the very foundations of the village, the shrieking roar that swept through the area making him clamp down on his ears and drop to his knees was another.

"We'll finish this later!" Harry grit out at the Council man before apparating out with a CRACK!

The Village was in absolute chaos, civilians had mostly been evacuated into the Hokage Monument, leaving the Shinobi to try and defend the village against the Kyuubi which towered over them in a broiling writhing mess of demonic Chakra and pure unadulterated rage and Blood Lust. When Harry apparated in, he literally dropped to the ground, choking on his own lungs for a moment, it hit him like a physical force, he could _feel_ the Shinobi around him dying, the Souls that were eaten by the Kyuubi's Chakra to remain alive as the occasional Jutsu managed to hit home.

He shuddered and moaned, his Chakra flaring around him like a living thing in reaction to the death that saturated the air around him, he had to get moving, he couldn't afford to lose control here. Obito needed him.

The dark haired male took a breath and reigned in his Chakra, wisps of it still lingering on his skin as he took to the roof tops, he had a feeling he would need the Hallows for whatever happened after this.

He prayed to whatever god that was out there that he wouldn't need them in the end.

* * *

**Finito. **

**Yes I'm a stinker. Leaving it on a cliff hanger for you Muahahaha! Mine is an evil laugh! (I Apologise, too much Firefly lately. X3)**

Also, for those not in the know: I have a Facebook page. Drop me a line, I have the link on my FFnet Bio. 8)

**Future Story:**

**Ignition**: _One Piece/Harry Potter crossover_. Magic is unpredictable at best, chaotic at worst – no one could have predicted the backlash of magic in the Second Task when Harry attempted to use something more complex than a '_Relashio_'. No one could have known what would happen, or where Harry would end up. Four years after his disappearance, Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Cat Thief Nami and Usopp rescue a man lost at sea who has no memory of life before he awoke on a beach in the Grand Line.

**This is a story that people who have watched One Piece can read and one for those who haven't seen it and don't mind spoilers. Because there are spoilers in this. Quite early on as well. **

**Pairing is: **Zoro/Harry, Luffy/Hancock, _possible_ Paulie/Nami (for some reason I kinda like it.)

_**THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS PLEASE!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**CHALLENGE 12:** **Serpent in the Shadows**

_Harry Potter/Naruto (set during Kakashi Gaiden)_

**Pairing:** Harry/Minato Namikaze

**Summary:** Working as an Unspeakable after the war, Harry and his specialized team are sent to watch different areas of the Elemental Countries. They were chosen because each one has a 'normal' Animagus that can blend in with area. Their one year mission is to keep an eye on different villages after small - but worrying - bouts of demonic energy was detected. Harry - because of his stag animal form - was assigned to the Land of Fire since it was known that a family/clan kept deer.

After a time, Harry started following up on the war the Leaf was having with Rock and found himself trailing after a group of three kids (Kakashi's team) and witnessed the what happened to Obito. Angry that the girl and boy left the black haired kid behind, Harry went to the teen and found him barely alive. Doing what he could for the kid, Harry kept him alive long enough to bring him back to England, knowing that Obito needed more extensive medical treatment.

During this time, Harry all but adopted Obito and after two more years of service, Harry quits the Unspeakables and takes Obito back to his home country. (Time line is now about 6 months before Kyuubi attacks)

**Requirements:**

- Minato maybe married to Naruto's mother or not - doesn't matter since she dies anyways  
- Harry helps Minato seal the Kyuubi away without either of them losing their lives.  
- Harry helps raise Naruto and Obito sees him as a little brother.  
- Basically it's a huge Naruto AU so have fun with it. Show what Naruto could be like with two loving parents, and an 'older brother'. What would Kakashi do when he see Obito? What would the Uchihas do? What happens when the Uchihas are killed by Itachi?

* * *

**Lightning on the Wave**

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

Obito and Kakashi were working in tandem. It had been two days ago - when the message first came in - that Harry had pulled Obito aside and taught him how to redirect lightning. Obito, being only capable of producing Fire in its raw elemental form, had Kakashi forming the lightning while he was juicing it up with his own Chakra and the stuff that Harry had taught him to draw on from the world around him and shooting it at the Kyuubi's head every time the pain in their bodies got just that hair too far past '_unbearable_'.

"Where's Minato-sensei!" Obito shouted over the crackling lightning as he and Kakashi leaped back another ten feet to charge up another shot.

"I...... Don't....... Know!" Kakashi shouted panting as he formed more lightning, his Sharingan firmly hidden behind his Hitai-ate – they'd learned quickly early on that Byakugan and Sharingan would be useless in this fight and if anything, it would hurt them to even activate it. "Ku-Shina-San....... Went...... Into Labour....... Just before.... the Kyuubi..... Attacked!"

Obito cursed as she shot off another lightning bolt, "He's going to use his son to seal the Demon!" he shouted in horrified realisation, he'd read through Harry's books on Demonology and through all the information that he and Team Bambie had managed to accrue during their time within the Hidden Countries, that was the only way they were going to deal with the Kyuubi. A Jinchuuriki.

Kakashi stared at him in horror, "We have to stop him!"

Obito shook his head, "We'd never get there in time! Let alone talk him out of it! He'd just knock us out and leave us in the office! We have to get Harry!"

"How will that Outsider know how to stop Sensei!" Kakashi shouted back genuine panic beginning to blossom in his only visible eye, Minato was the closest thing to a father he knew!

"I can't explain it! I just KNOW!"

The Kyuubi shrieked in agony as a bolt of pure black lightning smacked into its face, knocking it back several paces.

"_**Know What?**_" a voice demanded from behind the two.

The two Shinobi stared in stunned horror at the figure behind them, it was Harry but not at the same time. The figure was roughly 6'0" in height, a good half-foot higher than Harry normally was, his hair was longer, hanging down to his waist in a thick fall of pure black, he wore a hood over his face but it did little to conceal the dark crimson and black markings that patterned his face like Kabuki make-up, his eyes were black, no green iris, no iris at all or whites, just pure black. His hood was attached to a thick black cloak that hung to the figure's ankles, in his hands, a large black long bow with strange red and green markings upon it.

"Harii?" Kakashi asked hesitantly, staring at the figure in front of them.

"_**In A Fashion I Suppose,**_" the figure admitted nonchalantly as he lifted his bow and took aim again, black lightning forming into a notched arrow. Kyuubi screeched yet again as he let loose with it. "_**What Is It You Wanted Me For Obito?**_" he asked looking at the former Uchiha – though it was very difficult to tell with his eyes being the way they currently were.

Obito jolted, "Minato-sensei! He's going to use Naruto to Seal the Kyuubi!"

"_**Impossible. He Does Not Know How To Summon Death And I Have Refused To Show Him. Kushina Would Never Allow Her Son To Be Used In Such A Fashion Either.**_"

"Please Harry! Please just check! I have a really bad feeling!" the 15-year-old pleaded, eyes pleading with the imposing figure in front of him. A figure that suddenly seemed to diminish, back to roughly 5'4" in height, green eyes and shoulder length crows nest black hair.

"Alright, I'll check at the Hospital, you two keep firing lightning, its getting through to it!" CRACK! He was gone.

When Harry reapparated into the Hospital he shuddered, Death lingered in this room. The black haired male turned and stared, Kushina-chan... her face bruised, her thighs slick with blood, she'd just given birth... but she was dead... why was her face bruised? He stepped forward and reached out, recoiling as if his hand were struck.

She was smothered.

Someone had come in and smothered her after Minato came and took his son away, she had been in a Pain Killer induced haze when the nurse who had been trying to clean her up was ordered out by someone, then they forced the pillow over her mouth and suffocated her.

CRACK!

Harry reappeared outside on top of the roof of the Hospital, _there!_

Minato and Gamabunta making their way to the Kyuubi, the sky was already beginning to storm over, he could see the gathering Death Clouds, oh gods above, how had he found the Old Ways of Summoning the Shinigami! Harry was fairly certain he had destroyed everything he could find pertaining to the Shinigami's summoning within the Hidden Countries, too Many Shinobi may have been tempted to make a deal for immortality and the Shinigami cared not for _whose_ Soul he took, as long as it was _A_ Soul. He had made certain to lie to the Council regarding that.

CRACK!

"Harii! What are you doing here! No! Go! Leave!" Minato shouted as soon as the dark haired figure appeared beside him.

Harry turned and wholloped him on the cheek, paying the emerging Death God no mind as he grabbed the blonde Kage by the front of his dumb white coat and wrenched him up to eye level, allowing the influence of the Hallows to surface and bleach his eyes flawless black, akin to that of the being stood behind them.

"_**Me! What Am I Doing Here?**_" he mimicked, growling, watching as Minato's eyes went wide, "_**I'm Not The One About To Sentence My Son To A Life Of Pain And Misery As A Jinchuuriki!**_"

"Kushina would never-

"_**Kushina Is Dead,**_" Minato froze, "_**Someone Snuck Into Her Room After You Left And Smothered Her With Her Own Pillow. Excuse Me For Trying To Prevent Your Son From Becoming An Orphan.**_"

Minato shook his head and knocked Harry's hands away, looking up at the Shinigami who watched them with the patience of a god, motionless, his black chakra roiling around them. Black... Chakra? No, no, now is not the time. "I have to do this. If I don't... Konoha will cease to exist. My son will die anyway if I don't."

Harry growled, "_**This Isn't The Only Way To Do This Minato. It Doesn't Have To Be Your Son!**_"

"Would you have me ask another woman in the Village to give up their child? How can I go to the Hyuuga Clan and ask to Seal this Monster into their little girl's stomach? Or the Yamankas, the Akimichis, the Aburame, Nara, Inuzuka, Uchiha... how can I ask something of a family that I'm not willing to do myself? I _have_ to do this Harii. He may be my son, but... this is my Village," Minato didn't have a chance to react before his throat was in a vice grip.

Black eyes now held a burning green iris as Harry glared darkly at Minato, "_**You... Did Not Just Say That This Place Is More Important Than Your Son. Homes Can Be Rebuilt. Plants Can Regrow. People Cannot Be Replaced, Especially Not The Child Of Kushina,**_" he then released the Hokage and turned to the Shinigami who tilted slightly, looking down at the black writhed figure that carried his essence.

/_**DECENDANT. YOU ARE NOT HE WHO SUMMONED ME. THE PRICE HAS ALREADY BEEN GIVEN, THE DEAL STRUCK, TO PREVENT THIS – YOU HAVE ARRIVED TOO LATE.**_/

Harry bowed his head, ignoring Minato who stared at him in stunned horror, "_**Honoured Ancestor. For This, I Offer -**_

/_**I CANNOT. THE DEAL HAS BEEN STRUCK – IT CANNOT BE UNDONE.**_/

"I'm sorry Harii," Minato whispered, "Please, take care of Naruto and Kakashi for me? I know you would have anyway but please."

"_**I Offer My Magic – To Save Namikaze Minato's Life From The Ether.**_"

THAT caught the Shinigami's attention.

/_**YOU WOULD GIVE HALF OF YOUR SOUL, TO SAVE THIS MORTAL?**_/ if a God could sound surprised, then the Shinigami would have had top marks for the attempt.

"_**I Would.**_"

/_**TO DO THIS, I WOULD NEED TO RECREATE THE SEAL, TO USE YOUR POWER TO HOLD THE KYUUBI INSTEAD OF HIS SOUL.**_/

Minato stared at the foreigner, unable to pull his eyes away.

"_**Please. No Child Should Grow Up As I Have.**_"

/_**VERY WELL. BUT IT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH. FROM YOU, NAMIKAZE MINATO, I MUST TAKE SOMETHING TOO. HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT FOR YOU TO DECIDE. MY DECENDANT GAVE UP THAT WHICH HE HELD MOST PRECIOUS TO SAVE THE LIFE OF ONE WHO WOULD DOOM HIS OWN CHILD – LIFE IS SACRED, EVEN I, AS THE GOD OF DEATH, WOULD NEVER DO ONE SUCH THING. YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO BE A FATHER NAMIKAZE MINATO.**_

/_**AND THUS, YOU WILL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER.**_/

It all happened at once.

The world suddenly began to move again, Minato screamed as pain flared through his body, Harry collapsed as the black energy that cloaked him was promptly swept away along with the ashes of his cloak, the red stone upon his necklace and the slender rod of Ebony strapped to his arm. The Kyuubi vaporised in a mist of Black Chakra, Gamabunta shouted for Jiraiya to come and grab the two of them before they fell off and died. Within the Hokage Tower, the candles spluttered and Sarutobi Hizuren began to sob as the infant Naruto wailed and cried, Kyuubi's Chakra scolding through his tiny body etching three whisker markings into his cheeks and a thick black seal upon his stomach.

* * *

It was raining.

The cast-iron sky dark and forbidding, no lightning, no thunder, just the constant hammering of frigid cold water falling in sheets across the silent sombre world around them.

The ground had been churned up, slashed and scorched, now it drowned, the red stain diluted and fading, running down into the grass... tainting the ground.

Bodies littered the ground, motionless, peaceful, as if in mockery of discarded rubbish, of sleep and silence.

The only sound in this desolate place was the rain as it lashed the world with its sorrow and the sound of Harii coughing as he rolled over onto his back, Minato panting and lying beside him as his nerves tingled with pain.

"Its over."

"Yeah."

"... ... ... Good."

"Yeah..."

* * *

It took three weeks to finish all of the burials, to have all the names added to the Memorial Stone.

The Hokage presided over each and every funeral, but not Sarutobi Hizuren, but Namikaze Minato, the only man to have ever survived the Sealing of a Demon. Never once did he leave the company of the long haired foreigner who held his infant child protectively, the child that caged the demon who killed those whose funerals they attended.

Dark glares and looks of hatred were shot to the child and the man who carried him, only one person had tried to attack the two, he hadn't even come within six feet of him before their Hokage had him pinned to the ground trussed up like a pig. The foreigner hadn't even blinked, just continued to watch the world in silence, child held securely in his arms.

Obito was starting to get extremely concerned.

He had _never_ seen Harry act this way before, it was like something of himself was dead, like... he'd lost the will to live and was only going through the motions out of habit now. The only difference now being that Minato-sensei now lived in their apartment as well, Tenzou and Obito shared a room and Harry and Minato-sensei shared the other with little Naru-chan. The former Uchiha was not too proud to admit that he was terrified for his 'oniichan', something had happened to him when he helped Minato-sensei get rid of the Kyuubi.

His sensei was another matter, it was as if he too were in a daze, the difference being that sometimes he would revert to his old self, sometimes Obito would find him crying as he stared at Kushina-sensei's grave, apologising over and over again, other times he would be with Harry. He stuck close to the dark haired male who refused to let his son out of his sight, it concerned Obito, Harry just held him, occasionally fed, bathed and changed him when it was needed, but that was all he did. He didn't coo and sing to the boy like he did with little Rosie, he didn't tell him bedtime stories like he did with Victoire, he didn't even complain when he caught Jack drinking out of the toilet again. He didn't complain about anything anymore.

Obito was scared for him and that meant he needed to call in reinforcements.

* * *

Three days later the ANBU guards were treated to the sight of a red headed man CRACKing into the apartment their Hokage and his son had been staying in for the last few days. They would have pounced onto the red haired foreigner but their Taicho – Kakashi of the Dog mask – prevented them with a curt handsignal, he recognised the red head from the various pictures in Harii's albums that was Weasley Ron, his bestfriend and 'Genin' Teammate. If anyone could help Harii-san now it would have been Ron-san or Hermione-san.

Ron wheezed, he hated Apparating without knowing where he was going but Obito had only been able to show him co-ordinates to where he was supposed to be going. Longitude, latitude and elevation had brought him to the apartment he recalled seeing in many a Mirror Call from his friend. Only now... it just seemed so empty.

Obito had taken Lady and Jack out for a walk with Tenzou and Minato was working at the tower with Sarutobi-san trying to figure out how they could control the Civilian populace of Konoha in regards to Naruto. The Shinobi had already noted down the truth and believed their Kage, they knew the difference between a Kunai and the scroll it was sealed in, they were a lot more tolerant and understanding of their Kage's Jinchuuriki son, the civilians on the other hand... they said that his child was a small sacrifice to ensure their safety, that they should drown the child before the demon managed to take hold and possess him. The man who came up with that ended up in the hospital and fairly quickly they learned that anyone threatening the Hokage's son was going to get a beat down the likes of which they had never seen.

Danzou was interested in Harii's black Chakra, his connection with the Death God; he was constantly quizzing Minato over the matter. WAS he really the human descendant of the Death God?

But now that Ron was here, he was looking around the apartment and he found his best friend, his brother in all but blood just sitting there, on the floor, leaning against the wall with a blonde infant pressed against his chest, sleeping soundly, dressed in a simple blue one-piece.

"Harry?" he asked, approaching nervously, if his friend was in one of _those_ moods then getting too close could be hazardous, but the dark haired male didn't even twitch or give any sign of realising he wasn't alone. "Harry, mate, you alright? Talk to me," he continued, kneeling down in front of the UNSPEAKABLE, "Who is this? You haven't gone and gotten yourself pregnant while we were gone have you?" he teased in exasperation, hoping to get at least a small smile from his surrogate brother. Nothing. Ron bit his lip, suddenly extremely worried, "Harry, I'm going to do a scan on you. Just hold still and don't freak out OK buddy?"

He pulled his wand slowly, making sure dull green eyes caught every movement before flicking it at him, blue vapour brushed against Harry's skin and suddenly awareness was there, Harry was looking at him with sharp emerald green eyes – not the Avada Kedavra eyes that Ron had grown up with but darker green eyes, an exact copy of Lily Evans's green eyes were looking at him, and they were suspiciously bright.

"Ron? Ron!" the red head toppled backwards with a squeak of surprise as he found himself with an armload of his bestfriend, the blonde infant still held against his chest now jostling awake and wailing. Harry ignored him and sobbed against his brother in all but blood, feeling the magic in the other male's body pressing against him, he could hear things again, see them, he could sense the life saturating their bodies, he never realised just how...

"Harry, what happened to you?" Ron whispered as the results of his scan came through, his face pained, "What happened to you?" he repeated hugging the other male tightly and fighting back his own tears and he buried his face in the mane of dark hair atop his bestfriend's head.

"I-I had to," the 24-year-old breathed, "I-If I didn't... Minato would've –

Ron felt something twist and howl in anger within him, Minato Namikaze, the leader of the village had forced Harry into giving up his magic, half of his _Soul_, and Harry would have done it, he would have if it meant Obito would have been safe. Ron drew away from Harry before he could finish and green eyes faded into dull and glassy voids, mechanically rocking the squalling child against his body until the child stopped crying, Ron eyed the infant warily, he looked a lot like that Namikaze bastard. And true to Gryffindor fashion, he didn't think and his brain connected the dots with all the finesse of a blind donkey trying to paint with its ass.

"Don't worry Harry. I'll look after you," the red head soothed, cupping his bestfriend's face, "Mione and I will find a way to get it back, you won't be helpless, I promise, we'll look after you," he swore, pressing a kiss against the smaller male's forehead.

"_Who the hell are you?_" a voice from the doorway demanded.

Ron looked up in alarm, he hadn't even heard anyone come in but the sight of blue eyes, blonde hair and the engraved headband on his forehead all added up to one thing in his mind at the sight of the Fourth Hokage.

Hate.

* * *

**Chapter ten, finito. Now maybe I can post this up XD Hope you guys like it.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Serpent in the Shadow's Challenge Twelve**

**By**

_**Araceil**_

* * *

**LIGHTNING ON THE**** WAVE**

**Chapter Eleven**

**

* * *

**

Minato barely had a split second to move before the red head that had been touching Harii-san's face lovingly before hand attacked him with a strange bolt of red light; it scorched the wall when it hit causing Harii to flinch and Naruto-chan to wail.

The Yondaime growled and slammed a fist into the intruder's stomach, effectively knocking him down and causing him to throw up violently onto the floor. Perhaps he had hit the fool a tad too hard but he was beyond caring at this moment, fury simmering just under the surface of a deceptively placid facade.

"ANBU!" he barked marching over and throwing the window open, "Why the hell is this man here and how the fuck did he get passed you?" he grit out blue eyes spitting as he fairly radiated Killing Intent.

Kakashi's eyebrow rose behind his mask, he hadn't thought that his sensei had become so attached to Harii-san so quickly perhaps it was because of Naruto or whatever had occurred between them while they spoke with Shinigami-sama. Either way it was not his place to say anything, "This is Weasley Ron, Harii-san's Genin Teammate. You did give authorisation for them to visit him at any given time," he pointed out ignoring the way Minato's KI spiked abruptly.

"But not for him to attack me," the blonde hissed but he didn't say what he really wanted to, that those laws now meant nothing with the dark haired male being the only one willing to care for his son, that their safety was now more important than diplomatic relations with any other country – they already had Iwagakure sniffing around and he was getting mightily pissed off by it all. "Find Obito, Harii-san is in no state to be playing the part of translator," he stated trying to force himself to calm down as he heard the man behind him coughing and wheezing as he tried to get back onto his feet, blue eyes glaring fit to kill in the back of Minato's head.

"Hai Hokage-sama," Kakashi demurred knowing it would just piss the other man off if he tried to argue about leaving him alone with the foreigner before gesturing to his comrades as they all _Shunshin_ed away.

Minato sighed heavily ditching his white cloak on the back of a sofa, ignoring the foreigner as he tried to push himself upright – perhaps it was a good thing that he'd hit him so hard now. The blonde Kage knelt beside Harii-san and Naru-chan, a tanned hand smoothing through blonde peach fuzz and soothing the infant back into silence. He checked over the vacant dark haired man before sighing and gently lifting him up from the floor and guiding him to a chair where he was pushed down to sit in, he looked at the red head before pointing at the other open chair.

"Sit," he ordered before turning and leaving the room, intending to go and make some drinks because he had a feeling this would take some time and god-damnit, his breathing caught in his throat, he wished Kushina were here. She would have known what to do about this whole situation, she would have been able to make Harii-san wake up, to get Rin to start smiling again, get that foreigner who looked as though _he could have been her __brother_ to calm down and not try to attack him.

He leaned against the kitchen counter breathing ragged and loud in his own ears as he fought off the prickling in the corner of his eyes, his wife was dead, killed by an Ex-ANBU operative who committed suicide not long after. Before Minato could get his hands on him and torture the information out of him. Information like: Who ordered it, why her, why at the Kyuubi-attack, which country. Why her, why his Shina-chan? She was just an Academy Teacher, yes she was the last survivor of a fearsome village renowned for its power and Ninjutsu techniques, but she was a teacher. She wasn't a threat, she was his wife, she hadn't used a jutsu in months ever since she discovered her pregnancy, she lived off ramen whenever possible and loved the colour green, she would grow flowers in the backgarden of every colour and variety and they flourished under her care, she couldn't sing to save her life but her voice was the most beautiful thing Minato had ever heard. Why her?

A soft click drew him away from his memories of his wife as he mechanically went about making tea for himself, Harii-san, their guest, Tenzou and Obito, he didn't bother making any for Kakashi as he was on duty. That done, he carried the tray into the living room and set it down on the table, ignoring the way the red head was sat protectively beside Harii and his son as he took a mug and pressed it into the dark haired man's hand, watching in relief as he drank it mechanically. He gestured to the tea set to allow Ron to choose his own cup before picking one up himself and retreating to the other chair and watching them.

And that was the scene Tenzou and Obito returned to.

Minato and Ron glaring daggers at one another, Harii sat vacantly in a seat beside the red head, Naruto sleeping on him yet again as he stared out of the window with dark eyes.

"_Ron, you came, thank the Kamis'!_" Obito exclaimed in relief as Lady and Jack immediately clamoured around the red head, recognising him and wanting to greet him appropriately, barking gleefully.

"Obito, care to explain why he is here and just _why_ he attacked me?" Minato asked frostily peripherally aware of a new ANBU team taking position outside the window, it must have been later than he thought if they were changing guard position already.

Obito blinked and rounded on Ron, "_You attacked Minato-sensei! Are you insane? He's the strongest person in the Village!_"

"_He did something to Harry!_" the red head snarled eyes narrowed hatefully on the blonde, "_He told me himself! Don't try to deny it! Because of you he lost his Magic! It's your fault he's like this you self-centred fuck!_"

Obito stared at him, "_What do you mean lost his magic?_" he asked quietly almost scared. Minato glanced between them reading the atmosphere and wisely staying quiet, this was something beyond serious.

"_What I mean is, Harry is now a Squib,_" the red head sneered still glaring at the blonde Kage.

"_That's.... bad?_" Obito asked in confusion, as far as he knew a Squib was someone who was born into a magical family but had no magic. Wouldn't everyone in the Hidden Countries be classed as a Squib if that were true?

Ron nodded, "_Unlike other squibs who are born without magic, Harry had it. He was connected to it on a level very few witches and wizards could understand. When you get close to magic, you get close to the world around you, you get closer to your very life force and your soul. Something happened to Harry that has ripped half of his Soul away. Magic isn't just a Bloodline Limit for us; it's... its... like _breathing._ Harry's Soul Sick right now, part of him is missing. I can't explain it, you've never had Magic, you don't see or feel the world like we do. We can hear and sense the life around us, its worse for Harry, he's been so connected to his magic its become an entity of itself, and now its gone and he's retreated into his mind, now that it's gone, he's beyond terrified, he's already dead. Argh, this is your fault!_" he shouted, pointing at Minato, Tenzou was the only one who noticed Harii-san cringing slightly in the background the former experiment swiftly and unobtrusively made his way to the elder's side and hugged him, feeling his body trembling ever so slightly.

"What is he saying?" Minato growled not liking the way the other man was eyeing him.

Obito swallowed, "He says it's your fault Harii-nii's like this. That he's soul sick because his Magic was taken away from him, half his soul is gone and his mind has retreated. That... he's already dead," he explained as simply as possible features pale as Minato digested that information and then slumped back in his seat, rubbing at his face, stress weighing down on him, he could feel tears beginning to prickle at the corners of his eyes.

Catching his teacher's distress Obito turned to Ron, "_It's not Minato-sensei's fault. Stop blaming him! He has enough on his plate right now,_" the Black snapped obsidian eyes narrowing, "_It's been a month since we were attacked, that's when this all happened. I don't know what happened, just that the strongest of the Nine, Kyuubi, attacked our village. Minato-sensei was going to use a sacrificial jutsu and give his soul to the Shinigami so he could seal the Kyuubi into Naruto,_" he gestured to the blonde infant, "_Harry interrupted but the Kyuubi was sealed into Naru anyway. He's been like this ever since, he would speak once or twice in the beginning, nothing more than a sentence or so but then got went quiet, and then kind of... absent. It's not Minato-sensei's fault._"

Now, Ron wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box and nor was he the brightest, but he knew his bestfriend.

Ron turned to Harry and calmly took Naruto from his arms, ignoring the way that Minato went tense and shifted – prepared to attack at a split second – before handing him to Obito and grabbing his bestfriend in a tight hug. "_Idiot. You fucking idiot,_" he whispered.

Harry shifted as he felt the world shift into focus around him again, "_Sorry Ron,_" he whispered startling the others.

"Harii, you're alright!" Tenzou exclaimed happily hugging the dark haired male from behind, squeezing him around the ribs tightly.

The dark haired man smiled sadly, "Unfortunately not. When Ron let goes I'll be back to being a vegetable," he admitted softly, "Without my magic, the whole world is out of focus for me, its like... being wrapped in cling film, it can't see or hear things right anymore. Right now I'm kind of feeding off of Ron's magic to stay lucid."

Obito sighed softly, "Is there anyway we can help?" he asked.

Harii shook his head, "I'll be alright, my body is already beginning to adjust to the difference, it will take time. Just... take care of the dogs and Minato. You know how useless he is," this was said with a half-hearted smirk in the blonde's direction.

The Yondaime huffed, "Baka. Should have stayed out of it," he grumped but the appreciation was there in his eyes.

Harii threw Ron's empty mug at him, "Che, you suck at being grateful you know," he snapped which was more than enough to tell Minato that he shouldn't mention it and Harii would do it again if he had to. "_As for you, what are you doing here?_" he asked poking at Ron.

"_Obito said something was wrong with you, I came as soon as I could. Harry, I'm sure we can get your magic back, you and me, we just have to go back home and get Mione and then we can –_

Harry shook his head, "_No Ron, I don't want my magic back,_" the stunned expression on his face would have made the other male laugh once upon a time ago, "_I made a deal with the Shinigami, I give up my magic and Minato lives. My magic's been used to bind the Kyuubi into Naru-chan's body, if we manage to break the deal – which I doubt, you can't circumvent the will of a god – it would kill him and unleash the nine-tailed Demon onto the world again._"

"_But -_ "

"_But nothing Ron. I'll live. Magic... Magic isn't everything. The muggles and squibs have lived without it, I can as well,_" he stated firmly before purposely drawing away from his friend, the world suddenly shifting again as if diving underwater.

Minato flinched as he watched the other man's green eyes turn dull and vacant, like it had been a few moments ago. He hadn't understood a word of that conversation but reading the facial expressions of the stranger, Harii-san and Obito had put together a fair amount. The dogs whined as they too noticed the change in their master and clamoured around him, nosing and licking at his hands while Tenzou sat back, rubbing his arms sadly.

Outside the ANBU group exchanged gestures and one of them flickered off, Danzou-sama would be very interested to know of this.

* * *

Harry continued to show small improvements every day over the next two weeks, now that they knew he would recover and had begun to look for those small improvements Minato and Obito suddenly felt rather stupid to have missed them to begin with.

The biggest sign of improvement came rather unexpectedly one day when Minato got back from the Tower and found the apartment utterly spotless.

Now he wasn't a slob by any stretch of the imagination, he hated clutter and rubbish, he got fidgety when he saw dirty dishes in the sink for longer than a week and abhorred the idea of disorganisation when it came to books and scrolls. But he liked things lived in at least, evidence that someone existed in the house and not just some kind of robotic killing machine – just another thing that he and Danzou continued to butt heads over, sadly that seemed to also be including Homura and Koharu increasingly of late. But no, when he got back from a long day, the house was spotless, the carpets had been vacuumed, the kitchen counters scrubbed clean, the dishes washed and dried and put away, the rubbish taken out, the clothes cleaned and the books put away. There was music playing, a young woman's voice belting out lyrics in a foreign language and he could see both Lady and Jack in the living room, docile and complacent as Naruto giggled happily on a fluffy mat in the middle of the floor, Harry sat cross legged beside him with an absent look on his face, mouth smiling at nothing in particular as he wiggled his fingers just out of Naruto's pudgy reach.

For a moment he was stunned into speechlessness, hope welling in his chest that his friend was finally well again so he could demand some answers, but when he spoke there was no reaction save a slow blink at him. It was a start, hope squeezed his chest slightly as he sat down beside the dark haired male grinning as Naruto squealed and waved a hand at him. He was such a happy baby, he couldn't wait until the little ball of sunshine was old enough to start crawling – he hoped to hell Harry would be recovered by then because there was no way Minato could keep an eye on Naruto AND do his paperwork. It seemed as though Naruto took after Kushina in personality.

The day after when he returned there was a different song playing, same foreign language, different singer and entirely different genre of music, this time he could hear faint humming. Peeking into the living room he spotted Harry and Naruto, the latter fast asleep thumb in his mouth as he clung to a strand of Harry's long black hair with the other, the former humming gently and swaying from side to side, arms wrapped around the child firmly as he stared out of the window. Minato could see one of the ANBU hidden beneath a Genjutsu and struggled not to laugh, Harry was staring at him, unblinkingly. When the ANBU attempted to move to a different branch, Harry followed him. He used to do this before, he would watch his ANBU minders for hours and then just _grin_ in a way that made them practically beg not to be assigned to him again.

The next day Obito was back from his mission. The former Uchiha was holding Naruto and looking practically ecstatic when Minato came through the door, about to ask what had him so happy Obito quickly shushed him and pointed towards the bathroom where they could faintly hear singing. The blond Kage blinked, Harry was singing in the shower? He was actually singing? And singing well? In the shower?

The next day, Harry spoke.

True he just looked at Minato and called him a dick but it was a start.

* * *

So.

The boy gave up his Kekkei Genkai, what could possibly be the most powerful they had _ever_ encountered in existence – being a descendant of the Shinigami HAD to have come with power the likes of which put the Bijuu to shame – but he gave it all up to save that disgusting clan-less orphan retard.

Orochimaru was _FURIOUS_.

His Vessel, his Prize, his Goal, gone, destroyed, sacrificed by some petty idiotic child who hadn't the slightest clue of just WHOM that power belonged to!

Still.

There was always his plan B – the Uchiha Sharingan.

And who knew, maybe he could still get his hands on the boy and make his displeasure known without a shadow of a doubt.

* * *

Minato sighed; it had been almost six months since the Kyuubi attacked, Konohagakure no Sato was finally limping back to its feet. Homes were being rebuilt, businesses were picking themselves back up and opening up, the children were actually playing in the streets again and he'd seen an old man and his bestfriend playing Go in the park earlier in the morning. Things were finally getting back to normal.

If he was one-hundred percent honest, he didn't want to be in the Office today.

Someone had broken into the apartment last night, an unknown Shinobi from unknown origins who had committed suicide via poison in a hallow tooth before Minato could properly drag him to the ANBU. He had been working himself to the bone lately to keep the village from seeming weak in the wake of Kyuubi's attack, if anything, the illusion that they had not suffered greatly from that walking Natural Disaster would send out a message louder and clearer than anything Minato could have done that Konoha was the best and nothing short of a Kami was taking them down. Maybe he was just tired, maybe he just got complacent, he didn't know what it was but he got it. He hadn't even realised there was someone else in the house until Harry crashed through the door and skidded across the floor, spitting blood, Lady and Jack barking and snarling, Naruto crying, Tenzou and Obito panicking.

Next thing he knew there was a wet crack and one of the dogs went quiet, Naruto squealed fearfully and Harry was gone. The Hokage was on his feet and in the living room just in time to see the water from a nearby vase turn into a spear and slam through the cloaked individual's shoulder, making him drop Naruto.

Minato's blood ran cold and he vanished, catching his son before he hit the floor and passing just in time to see Harry slam into the unknown ninja, legs wrapping around his body as his palm smashed so forcefully into his face they ended up smashing into the window and half out of it. Harry's smaller lithe form being flung onto a roof below where he hit the guttering, _hard_.

Restraint. Restraint. Restraint.

Minato chanted in his head as he systematically broke the man's arms and legs, ignoring the shrieks of pain.

ANBU will be here soon. Restraint. He won't talk if he's dead. Restraint.

Crunch.

Minato remembered jerking hard and staring at the son of a bitch as he gurgled and coughed, face hidden beneath a flawless white mask as he died. Obito was suddenly at his side, telling him that the ANBU had taken Harry to the hospital and the Hunter Nin were there for the body – see if they couldn't pinpoint just where this man came from.

Leaving Tenzou at the house with Lady and Naruto while Obito and Rin assisted ANBU and Oinin respectively.

Jack hadn't made it.

But somehow, for some reason, that fight had fully jogged Harry back to reality.

The only downside now was that he refused to stop swearing as the Medic Nins reset his broken bones and healed him up.

Harii glared at him from over Rin's head, "You, Minato, are in _deep_ trouble when I get my hands on you," he seethed darkly.

It was odd to see those eyes now, they were darker but more natural, a normal kind of deep jade green, he seemed... diminished oddly enough, more fragile now. Minato nodded slightly in acknowledgement of his friend's statement, even though he was fairly certain that right now that Harii was weaker than a Chuunin and had no chance of defeating him anymore. He couldn't teleport and he couldn't slow him down with that '_impermentia_' spell of his, or mess up his co-ordination with that Jelly Legs Jinx. Harii was... he was _weak_ now. That realisation made something heavy and cold settle into Minato's stomach, Harii wouldn't be able to defend himself properly anymore, wouldn't be able to defend Naruto properly anymore.

Minato suppressed a sigh and leaned against the wall, absently noting with interest that Harii really did have a vast and varied vocabulary and a most imaginative way of putting it together.

He supposed that now, it would fall to him to protect Harii and Naruto.

* * *

**Muahah, I bet you lot expected me to keep Super!Harry didn't you?**

**Not a chance. It's more fun if he can't just do whatever the hell he likes – and this leaves a whole lot of lulz for when Minato goes on his protective binge, Harry's potty mouth makes an appearance and Naru-chan learns new words.**

Araceil


	12. Chapter 12

**Serpent in the Shadow's Challenge Twelve**

**By**

_**Araceil**_

**LIGHTNING ON THE WAVE**

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

Minato hated being Hokage.

Sure he'd held the position for a good few months – almost a year actually thinking about it – but the bloom was off the rose and all he was left with was thorns, thorns he called paperwork. Being Hokage _sucked_. Spending all his time in the office, he could actually _feel_ his muscles becoming weaker, and his ass getting bigger.

How much paperwork could _one_ Village make?

Minato thumped his head down onto his desk, maybe if he closed his eyes and ignored them they would go away? Maybe? Hopefully?

"Well, look's like your Daddy's having fun," a familiar voice announced, tinged with amusement. Minato grunted and looked up to see his bestfriend and personal saviour – who the hell knew he was a damn good cook? Of course he was the main reason for Minato's behind getting bigger but his food was so good that he had stopped caring about that a while ago.

"Harii, Naru-chan, how are things?" he asked, sitting up straight in a belated attempt to look the part of the Professional-All-Powerful-Hokage-sama-Of-Konoha.

The smirk of amusement on the dark haired male's face more than told him he had failed miserably, "Well, Tenzou killed next door's cat while practicing Kunai throwing," Minato whimpered, the old woman next door was as close to the term '_Battle Axe_' as anyone he had ever met, and she loved that damn furry menace more than her own husband, creepy, "Turn's out Lady's pregnant, I'm pointing a finger at Tsume's Kuromaru for that one though and Naruto just said his first word," Harry declared, "Welcome to my life of domesticity," he added, a certain edge coming to his eyes that made Minato nervous. He knew Harry hated being cooped up, locked up and in one place for his own safety but really, it was _necessary!_

"Wait, Naru said his first word?" the Shinobi demanded, brain latching onto that last point before Harry could get worked up into another irritated rant on the subject of his '_house arrest_' as he called it. "When? What was it?" he demanded, vaulting over the desk and flickering in front of the pair to where Naruto was squirming and giggling in Harry's grasp.

"'_Icha_'," Harry quoted dryly, an eyebrow arched toward his hairline as Minato froze. "His first word was '_Icha_' and he hasn't stopped saying it since."

"I'll kill him," the blond moaned, hugging his son who was quite happily gabbling said word at his father, "Sensei's corrupted my precious baby-boy!"

Harry coughed slightly, "Actually, it was Kakashi. Jiraiya just corrupted him," he explained with a faint smirk of amusement at the expression of sheer horror on the older blond's face.

"Kakashi? Icha Icha? This is a prank right? Please tell me it's a prank," he pleaded.

Harry shook his head, "No prank. I bought Obito an Icha book first time I was in Fire Country, didn't know what it was at the time and I just tossed it in with my other books out of habit when he didn't want it," Harry scratched the side of his nose sheepishly, "Kakashi was over a week or so ago and whining about something or other, I tuned out after three minutes, grabbed the first book of my shelf and told him to read it and get out of the flat so I could get some sleep."

"It was Icha Icha wasn't it?" Minato practically whimpered.

Harry nodded, "It was. Jiraiya saw I had one of the books and decided to give me the entire remaining set for free."

"I'll kill him," Minato repeated.

Harry laughed and yanked on one of his sideburns, "Finish your paperwork first, I swear I heard your soul crying for mercy a few hours ago when you got in," he teased, collecting Naruto from the Shinobi's grasp and then casually shoving him towards the desk.

The blond pouted, "You can't tell me what to do," he complained, digging his feet in so the other male couldn't push him any further, "You're a civilian."

Harry's eyebrow shot up and he lifted Naruto slightly, "I have a baby and I'm not afraid to use it Namikaze," he threatened as Naruto giggled and drooled at him.

Minato stared at the child, and then at his best friend and back to baby who was flailing his arms and legs.

"I've had scarier threats," he stated flatly.

Naruto threw up on him.

* * *

Minato grumbled, uselessly dabbing at his vest with wet tissues, he'd managed to get all the sick out – but the smell, good god, it _lingered_. Spoiled milk was not pleasant, when mixed with bile he had come to the decision that it smelt ten times worse.

Harry hadn't stopped laughing; in fact, he was still in Minato's office laughing himself silly as he changed the baby's sick smeared onesie.

Naruto, the traitor, had smiled up at him after the incident, a gummy toothless smile of such innocence and guile that Minato had a brief flashback to his Kushina, smiling at him in exactly the same way after she'd swapped all his boxers for ladies lingerie. And then he giggled sweetly – re: demonically, and grabbed a handful of Minato's hair before trying to yank it out from the roots.

His ANBU guard of course thought the whole thing hilarious; no doubt the story would be all over the Village before nightfall – Yondaime Hokage, defeated by projectile baby vomit. Oh boy, he did not want to know what Iwagakure no Sato would do if they got hold of information like that.

He made a mental note to never let Jiraiya-sensei learn of this incident, or it would end up in one of his books, he just _knew_ it.

He had been torn between mortification and fury when he found out that one of his books had been based on himself and Kushina, how they got together and their ups and downs in the relationship. Kushina however had found it rather sweet and promptly bought said book, she hadn't put it down until she finished it before quite flatly telling him that his Sensei – while a pervert – was a damn good author if slightly creepy.

The Hokage sighed, he needed to get out of the damn office, that or find someone to delegate that paperwork to! Hokage was supposed to be the strongest in the Village, at this rate he would soon be on par with a Chuunin if he didn't get some training in. Then who would make sure neither Harry or Naruto were attacked or taken advantage of?

Obito would certainly do his best but he was planning on moving out and getting a little place with Rin – just the two of them, and Minato wasn't going to get between them when they were so happy together. Heck, he was fairly sure he overheard the young Black asking Harry about Marriage ceremonies in his home country – Minato had frowned and left before he could hear anymore, his mind consumed with memories of his late wife.

He didn't think he was ever going to get over Kushina.

* * *

"I swear by all that is pink and polka dotted, I am going insane."

"Oh stop being so melodramatic, Niisan," Obito grunted as he shovelled Sushi into his mouth at top speed.

The two of them had stopped off at a little Sushi restaurant after Harry's little meeting with Minato earlier that day, Obito had just returned from a C-ranked mission when they bumped into each other and the elder of the pair offered to buy him lunch. Naruto was curled up in the crook of Harry's arm greedily guzzling down a bottle of milk while Harry eyed the food in front of him longingly – unable to grab some due to the infant occupying his arms.

"I'm not being melodramatic, Obito. I literally have _nothing_ to do but care for Naru-chan, I don't mind but it's as if Minato suddenly thinks I'm about as helpless as a Civilian now that I don't have my magic. It's fucking annoying," the dark haired male complained bitterly, pulling the bottle away from the infant so he could breath for a little bit before giving it back so the rest could be drunk.

"Well, think of it from his point of view," Obito suggested, dunking his green pepper Hosomaki roll into the small Soy dish, "You used to be the only one in the Village who could go toe-to-toe with him, fight him and actually land a hit. You were his equal. But you had to use your magic to do it," he pointed out before sticking the Hosomaki in his mouth and chewing. Harry grumbled unhappily and looked out of the window, pulling Naruto's empty milk bottle away and adjusting the child – putting a rag over his shoulder before gently beginning to wind the child. Obito swallowed and waved his chopsticks around a little as he continued, "All those little jinxes and hexes and the Elemental magics you used gave you the edge that your lack of Chakra and Shinobi training dulled. You don't have that edge anymore. So yeah, he does think of you as a Civilian, probably as an Academy Drop Out in level of power."

Naruto burped a little, a ribbon of regurgitated milk dribbling down his chin.

Harry tossed an Ebi Nigiri in his mouth while he had a hand free, "I guess that it would seem like that," he admitted sourly, not happy at the thought his friend believed that his Magic was the ONLY reason he had been defeated.

Obito nodded as he took a sip of his tea, he knew Harry was good with kids but watching him with Naruto was slightly surreal because it was as if the little Jinchuuriki was _his_ son and not just a child he was caring for.

"Well, I guess that just means I'm going to have to start training again," the ex-Wizard declared firmly, his unfamiliar Jade green eyes hard and sharp with determination.

Obito nodded, "Who are you gunna get to take care of Naruto?" he asked, there was no way that Harry would take the child with him or leave him on his own – or take him to Minato for that matter, the man had no idea what to do with babies as they found out the hard way.

Harry shrugged a shoulder, "I know some people, Tsume-san said she wouldn't mind, Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza all have kids the same age, they can have a play date or something. If all else fails, there's always you and Rin or Kakashi, and if you guys aren't here, well Jiraiya's always whinging about how he never gets to see his '_Grandson_'."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Obito asked sceptically, "Jiraiya-sama would just use him to pick up chicks."

"Not if he wants to keep his dick attached he won't," Harry informed the Chuunin pleasantly, making the teenager shudder and pale. He had forgotten how _evil_ Harry could get.

* * *

One would think that since you were living with the Hokage you could get access to the Shinobi Library – but no, no because he wasn't an official Shinobi he was denied access. And even though it wasn't said, the '_Foreign Trash_' tacked on the end of that sentence couldn't have been any more obvious in the expression of the Chuunin manning the door.

Harry merely shrugged, "Fair enough," he admitted easily enough. He had been expecting it to be honest; he had already been overcharged in various stores. '_Visitor's Tax_' they claimed, even though he was living in the village he wasn't born in it and he wasn't working in it and he definitely wasn't a Shinobi in it, ergo, legally he was classed as a visitor.

Being foreign and also the carer of the so called '_Demon-Child_' had pretty much made Harry about as welcome as dry rot and seagull droppings.

He didn't tell Minato because, _really_, it wasn't a big deal – regardless of what Obito tried to tell him. Harry didn't even bother informing anyone about the little death threat letters he tended to find pinned to the front door written in animal blood.

Bored and without anything to do, Harry decided to work on those Chakra Control exercises Obito suggested – only slightly modified so they were more interesting. The Leaf Spinning exercise turned into the Leaf Dancing exercise, he almost managed to recreate River Dance before he got distracted by Naruto crying in the next room. After that he decided to see how warm he could make a rock get, he fed his Chakra into it and heated the stone up to the pointed where it was about as malleable as Clay – which resulted in a very bored Harry making a clumsy model of a lumpy unicorn. After which he went to the Academy to pick up Tenzou who was still a little wary of walking around on his own where they sat down and went through his homework together while Naruto rolled around on the carpet as Lady kept an eye on him.

Finished with the homework and leaving Tenzou to entertain himself, Harry decided it was probably time to make dinner for when Minato got back – and fuck if it didn't sound so disgustingly domestic he wanted to gouge his eyeballs out.

It was probably a good thing that, unlike Molly, Harry always cooked by hand and without magic or he would be in a really tight fix now that he was a squib.

Squib... Huh... He wondered how everyone else was reacting to this knowledge, was it already all over the Daily Prophet? Were the Death Eaters and Dark Sympathisers suddenly thinking that the choke hold he had over them was relaxed – did they honestly think that Ron would let them? That Neville would let them? Harry wouldn't be surprised if the mild-mannered Herbology Professor left Hogwarts and rejoined the Auror forces just to keep things in check now that Harry was gone. Croaker was probably already trying to recruit Hermione into the Department but Harry doubted if she would be swayed in the least, she was fighting for House Elf and Werewolf rights! Nothing short of Voldemort was going to distract her for any sizable length of time. Plus, she would be spending what other free time she had with Rosie, something she wouldn't be able to do if she became an UNSPEAKABLE.

"I'm home," Minato called tiredly from the door, kicking it shut behind him with a tired sigh as he toed his sandals off.

Harry glanced over his shoulder to him, "You look like hell," he stated flatly.

Minato huffed and sat down at the table, planting his head down on the placemat and groaning, "Thank you for that stirring comparison," he grumbled. Taking pity on the man, Harry left the chicken and bacon risotto he was making and turned the kettle on, grabbing a mug and going about brewing up some tea for the frazzled Hokage.

"What happened now?" the green eyed male asked setting the mug down in front of him and tugging a strand of hair to grab his attention.

"The usual, mission demands from the people that we just don't have the numbers to fill anymore, the Council whinging about not having enough power or say in the running of the village, Jiraiya's spy ring passing along grim information, petitions to kill Naruto when the Seal has stabilised – take the Fox with him to the Shinigami," he paused at this point because Harry had started to growl unhappily.

"That won't stop it," the dark haired male growled, "It'll just burn off another soul and return to the Material plane," he pointed out as he went back to the risotto.

Minato sighed and unzipped his jacket before reaching for the tea, "Yeah well, you try telling them that," he muttered taking a mouthful.

Harry snorted, "You don't want me to do that," he retorted darkly, he would probably end up taking them to the Nekomata and introducing them to the Schrödinger's Cat of the Hidden Countries.

The blond snorted, "Probably not. How's Naruto and Tenzou?" he asked, desperate to get away from politics for the time being.

Harry shrugged a shoulder, "Naruto's getting bigger, he's rolling onto his hands and knees now, nearly walking but not quite there. I'm not surprised he's a talker before a walker. Tenzou's doing well, not top of the class but definitely in the upper set, he's got a real talent for strategy."

The Hokage nodded, "What about you? ANBU said you were doing some Chakra control exercises," he pointed out a little disapprovingly. He shouldn't be training in his current state, especially without supervision, he might hurt himself.

Harry shot him a look, "Just some basics that I fiddled with. Controlling multiple leaves on the palm of my hand and then heating up rocks. Nothing big, I tried to get some other exercises from the Library but since I'm not a Shinobi I can't get access," he shrugged a shoulder to show he didn't care – but he did catch the slight relaxing of the Shinobi's back, so he was pleased that Harry couldn't do anything was he? "I'll just invent some of my own," he finished watching for any reactions. He wasn't disappointed.

Tenzou winced in the living room, he could sense a fight brewing and he had no desire to be anywhere near them when they got going – Minato rarely lost his temper but Harry had that special ability to get under his skin and jab at the rawest nerves (Though he stayed away from anything relating to Kushina or missions).

Apparently the ANBU had already figured this out and were ushering both him, Naruto and Lady out of the window just as the shouting began.

* * *

Well, he had lost that fight rather spectacularly.

Harry sighed from his upside down position on the couch; he was under house arrest now after that rather explosive row with the blond-buffoon last night. And it kind of degenerated when Harry lost his temper and threw the first punch – it was actually embarrassing how fast Minato had restrained him, though that was not to say that Harry made it in any way easy for the man, just that it was fast.

Harry didn't know when but at some point they both ended up blurting things out that they had intended to keep secret, like how the Elders were trying to convince Minato to enforce the Clan Act – thereby forcing Harry to impregnate a number of women so that his Kekkei Genkai, which they were convinced held sway over the Shinigami, would populate Konoha (haha, not likely). And how the population of Konoha had been behaving with increasing maliciousness toward both Harry and Naruto, not to mention the letters. Harry shouldn't have said anything about the letters – they were the reason for his House arrest.

God damn, Minato was such a fucking mother hen!

It was shocking really, especially considering how he left a group of thirteen year olds complete a dangerous A-B ranked mission in the middle of a Warzone! Though, considering how it was that mission where Obito supposedly '_died_', Harry could kind of see where he would be paranoid in allowing people out on their own.

But still! He was a grown man! He could take care of himself!

What was one more bloodthirsty megalomaniac after his skin? He'd been dealing with those before he even knew how to go potty right!

Harry flailed unhappily on the couch, whining at the injustice of it all – completely unaware that a certain Hokage had shown up early and was currently watching from the window sill and wondering if he should leave before he got spotted by the no doubt still annoyed ex-Wizard. Which was kind of pointless now because Harry knew he was there.

Outside Kakashi was watching with great amusement and taking bets on how long it would take Minato-sensei to man up and go in.

"Not talking to you, go away!" Harry snapped, not looking up from where he flung an arm out in Minato's general direction – he heard the blond idiot yelp slightly in surprise followed by the sound of breaking glass.

The long haired male rolled off the couch and stared.

There was no longer a window.

How...?

Harry's eyes widened as he looked down at his hands before snapping his fingers, a small flame sputtering into life at the tip of his index finger – rather like a lighter. He stared at it stupidly, looked at the hole in the wall which Minato was only now just climbing through (looking rather windswept and surprised) before back to his flaming fingertip.

A slow feral grin spread across his face.

* * *

**Well. Naruto's childhood isn't exactly elaborated on and I don't doubt for a minute that the Hidden Countries just sat on their hands, especially with Konoha still reeling from the Kyuubi attack.**

**I know Kumo attempted to steal the Byakugan when he was four, we know the Uchiha Massacre occurred when he was eight. But aside from that as far as we know, nothing happened. Bullshit I say. **

**Ergo, I'm giving my lovely readers a chance for input. **

**Now, does anyone have any little subplot/story arcs they want to donate? **

Araceil


	13. Chapter 13

**LIGHTNING ON THE WAVE**

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

His eyes had turned yellow.

Yellow.

Minato stared, his mouth hanging open as those golden eyes stared at the flame wavering on the tip of a pale finger before looking at him and _grinning_. It wasn't a pleasant smile.

A split second later, Minato was having to **Shunshin** out of the line of fire as a jet of flame narrowly missed him, golden eyes tracked him eerily as he flashed behind the long haired male – and had to jump backwards as fire burst from between the former Wizard's shoulder blades.

"Keep me locked up like a Little Woman, will you?" Harii seethed, grinning ferally at Minato, who swallowed a little nervously – Harry had after all been one of the few people to beat him in a fight, and that had been a general spar, he hadn't been _angry_ like he was now.

How was he doing this? His Magic had gone into Sealing the Kyuubi, _all_ of it, the Shinigami had ripped out his entire Magical Core and tied it into the Seal according to the brunette woman that the red headed friend of Harii's had called. Harry had been too out of it to even remember the woman had visited and they were too busy in the other world trying to keep control of the populace and find a way of healing him without releasing the Demon to visit again.

So.

How was Harii controlling fire and _why_ were his eyes yellow?

Naruto promptly started wailing, making the two adults pause.

Blue and yellow met and held before the fire that writhed Harii died down and the gold became jade again.

"We'll finish this... _discussion_ later," Harii bit out before marching from the room to go and collect the blond's son. Leaving Minato in the ruins of the apartment living room looking as though he had just been beaten over the head, the blond sat down heavily on the recently vacated couch, listening as Naruto's wailing tapered off into sniffles and then silence. His mind was churning though.

Harii had no magic.

That was proven, by his friends, by the Medic Nins, by Harii and by the Shinigami himself.

So what had just happened?

How had he conjured flames like that? Used them in the same way he would have done – turned his eyes yellow...

He had only ever seen one person whose eyes turned yellow and they were nothing like that.

Perhaps it was a Kekkei Genkai that had been dormant until Harii's magic had been removed? Maybe it had awakened due to the trauma or something? The Sharingan only manifested in times of great emotional distress or danger, perhaps Harii's had picked up on the threats that lingered and tried to get at the Wizard while he wasn't paying attention.

Perhaps not, even Harii wasn't aware of them.

Minato wasn't just being paranoid when he kept ANBU on the pair at all times, prevented Harii from going out into public overly much.

Word had reached the other villages about the Kyuubi attack – it didn't take a genius to figure out that since the village was still standing they now had a Jinchuuriki holding the most powerful of the Nine. The fact that both members of the Sealing Process were alive as well was _unheard of_, and somehow word of the Shinigami Kekkei Genkai had gotten out as well – damn civilians and their loose lips! By now, everyone in Earth, Lightning and Sand knew of Harii and Naruto, the Kyuubi and the Shinigami.

If he thought the trouble that followed Kushina had been bad, the number of attempts on Harii were thrice as bad.

Half the cells in Torture and Interrogation were foreign nin who had attempted to make a grab for the foreigner, the other half were full of people who had exceptionally big mouths or fat wallets – Traitors and criminals the lot of them.

Then there were the threats from others.

ROOT... Danzou was overstepping his boundaries with them, for every three ANBU Minato had on Harii and Naruto, Danzou had at least one shadowing them. Observing, taking notes, reporting back. It was the only way that old War Hawk had so much information on the foreigner – Minato wasn't sure if he should be relieved or creeped out that the bastard actually _liked_ Harii as much as he could like someone who wasn't from Konoha or under his complete control.

Then there was the Council, Minato tugged at his hair in frustration, he had lost count of the number of Kunoichi Seduction specialist daughters/granddaughters his ANBU picked up trying to make contact with Harii. It was ridiculous!

"I think..." Minato jerked and looked up when he caught sight of Harii stood in the doorway, looking uncomfortable, "We may have to move," he finished, staring at the wall he'd blown out earlier.

The Hokage stared at the damage for a moment, before remembering.

The water spear – when that Kidnapper managed to break in, someone had made it and...

Harii had used a pure blast of _air_ to throw him and half the living room wall across the street. That meant... Fire wasn't the only element he controlled.

Could he control all of them?

"Minato?" asked the former Wizard, stepping forward in slight confusion – what was wrong with that buffoon now? Harry doubted that he could actually injure the man at this point in time, he was too damn fast, but maybe he hit his head falling out of the window.

The Hokage shook his head, "I'm fine. Just... thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself," Harii muttered sourly, annoying the blond somewhat.

He took a deep breath before he said something that would start another fight – and possibly destroy what remained of the flat. "I'll see if we can't find another House." Because he wasn't going to go back to the one he shared with Kushina, no, the memories, her scent, all her little knickknacks and the room that they decorated together for their Son he couldn't... he just couldn't face that... not yet. Not ever.

Harii nodded and retreated from the living room, leaving the Widower to his thoughts.

* * *

Minato still hadn't relaxed his mother-henning.

Harry was _this_ far away from shaving that bastard bald, dousing him with hormone potion and Portkeying his ass into the Forbidden Forest! See what the Trolls thought of that irritance when he smelt like a Lady Troll in heat. Ha.

Some Medic-Nins had poked and prodded, taken samples and had him pee into cups for almost a whole afternoon, now they were waiting on the return of Jiraiya who had left the village hunting down Tsunade. Apparently something was wrong with his Chakra Network and blood samples, something that none of the current Medic Nin could make heads or tails of – hence why Minato had sent his sensei off to go and find her (The other reason was to stop him from causing riots at the bath house. He was tired of having to repair the fencing that Angry!Kunoichi destroyed with Jutsus and weapons).

Either way, Harry was getting frustrated again.

Hadn't he just proved to Minato – by blasting him across the street – that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself?

He glared pointedly at the ANBU following him; they weren't even trying to be inconspicuous anymore as he always seemed to know where they were. It was hard to ignore them, they practically burned like miniature suns on his senses. He'd noticed it a lot more lately, Civilians were like starts, cold and distant, small but bright with life, Shinobi _burned_ brightly, they were warm with the sheer amount of Chakra they had running through them. The more powerful they were, the more they stood out on his senses, Minato was like a fucking supernova in the back of his mind, he physically could not ignore the man's presence. Same with the Sannin, Sarutobi-sama and some members of the Council.

But he was aware of other things as well.

Plants and animals, he knew, almost with the same certain instinctiveness that he knew the identities of the ANBU who followed him, of when Tenzou attempted to sneak in through the backdoor of the house, what they were and where they were. Without ever laying eyes on them.

Naruto burned far brighter than any child had a right to.

The fact that half the brightness was soaked and twisted and wrong made his stomach turn – Kyuubi.

Minato had moved them out of the flat and into a small, modest two floored house. He had ignored all the gossip that floated around regarding their involvement, how they were '_inappropriately_' close for two men, especially the Hokage and an Outsider.

It was a nice house, traditional, with a large garden for Naruto and Lady to run riot in – not that Lady ran much, her stomach too heavy and distended with puppies, but she waddled gamely after the toddler as he scuttled across the grass on hands and knees, shrieking with laughter. There were only two bedrooms in the house though and it was agreed that Tenzou was old enough to have his own room, while neither Minato nor Harry were comfortable leaving Naruto unprotected after that night with the attempted kidnapping.

Then there was Minato himself.

He had changed since the death of his wife.

Unsurprisingly, they had loved each other with a force that Harry had only ever seen in Fleur and Bill. Her death had shaken Minato almost to the breaking point – the fact that he had never been able to get answers from her killer just twisted the knife. But either way, he had changed, he wasn't Harry's uptight, easily embarrassed yet strangely wise and too old for his body bestfriend anymore.

He was an uptight, bossy, stressed and irritatingly childish blond buffoon who thought he was about as useless as a twelve year old.

If the man weren't already infertile thanks to the Shinigami, Harry would have castrated him by this point.

The moron's only saving grace in this instance was that he looked far too much like his son – who was fast becoming as precious to Harry as Teddy was. Like father like son, they were both too cute for their own damn good – and Harry did _not_ just think of Minato in _that_ way, it was just an observation. (He was uninterested, not blind.)

Hence why the rumours of him and said blond Buffoon being involved made him laugh like a drain when he first heard of them. Oh yes, Minato was handsome, Harry wasn't going to deny that – he'd always had a thing for blonds, regardless of how Draco soddin' Malfoy made his stomach roll with nausea – but anyone with a set of eyes could tell they were just friends. Minato was far too in love with Kushina to look elsewhere, and now he was far too heartbroken to even think of someone else. Harry had been too busy trying to deal with arrangements for himself and Obito and then too busy caring for Naruto and being angry with the idiot to bother with something like that.

The former wizard sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair as he perused the market stall for something to eat, ignoring the disdainful sneer on the vendor's lips and the way it fell when the watching ANBU pressured him with a touch of Killing Intent.

He needed to get laid.

It had been _way_ too long.

Giving up on the fruit – half of them were rotten anyway – he carried on his way to the Training Grounds, true they were off limits to Shinobi but Minato had _finally_ gotten it through his thick skull that it was probably a heck of a lot safer for Harry to practice getting his power under control in a Shinobi training ground than in their living room.

Which led to him stripping off his shoes, jacket, shirt and bag, ignoring the ANBU, and began his warm-up.

Stretching his muscles out, getting his blood pumping, he hadn't done this in too bloody long, he was stiff and slow – clumsy, he hated that word, especially in conjunction with him.

ANBU sat and watched quietly, senses stretched and alert for intruders, as Harry ran through his Katas, his body moving and flowing from position to position with skill bred of familiarity. Even they could see that some of the Katas he used were from entirely different Martial Arts present in the Hidden Countries, he was using more than one style at the same time.

Stopping, Harry took a deep breath and moved into a specific stance.

His base Elemental Affinity was Fire, followed by Lightning, Wind, Light, Water, Earth and Darkness. So, he would start with Fire. And despite it being his Second Affinity, it was also his most powerful one, so he would leave Lightning for last.

He took a deep breath and called on the Flame, heat licking at his fingertips – and someone started screaming.

Startled, Harry released his hold over Fire and jerked his head around to one of the ANBU, she was screaming and clutching the eyeholes of her mask. Immediately all the other ANBU were around her with their weapons drawn as she freaked out and tried to crawl away from them, unable to see and now with blood dribbling down from behind her mask.

Harry's stomach flipped, were her eyes bleeding?

Marching forward, he shoved aside Hawk and grabbed the girl's arm, gritting his teeth as she thrashed and tried to break his grip – even going so far as to stab his arm before one of the other ANBU could stop her. Harry flicked a hand at him, knocking him backwards with a blast of air before he could hit the girl who was still trying to pull away.

"Damnit, stop wriggling, I'm trying to help!" he finally snapped, twisting her arm and wrenching her mask off.

He recoiled in horror.

Her eyes had melted clean out of her skull.

* * *

Harry had perhaps all of two seconds to identify the Supernova that approached them before he found himself half crushed; half suffocated as Minato shoved him against the wall.

Harry's head hit the wall hard and he didn't hear a damn thing Minato snarled at him – he just shoved the man away and staggered slightly. _Then_ the buffoon noticed his bloody arm and rounded on the Medic Nin.

Glaring at the blond, Harry reached for the water in the near-by jug and slammed it into the blond's face, freezing it in place over his mouth.

"Shut up, Minato," he growled before looking at the Med-Nin, "How is she?"

He eyed the Hokage who was glaring fit to kill at Harry, trying to pull the ice-gag off his face, "For a thirteen year old, she's strong. She'll live. Hopefully."

"Hopefully?" Harry echoed.

"She is an Uchiha. She won't be well received now that her eyes have... melted," he explained uncomfortably. Minato winced slightly while Harry rubbed at his face unhappily.

"Do you know what caused it?" he asked softly.

"Massive Chakra overload," the Medic explained, "She had her Sharingan Active, whatever she saw must have been unloading massive amounts of Chakra and completely liquefied her retinas."

Harry's face bleached white, "Thank you, Sensei," he whispered.

Knowing when a Patient needed to be alone for a moment, the Medic Nin nodded and left the room, silently wondering just what had occurred out on the Training Fields. An Uchiha with no birth record shows up with her eyes melted clean from her skull and the Yondaime's '_side-dish_' with a stabbed arm and a look of severe guilt written all over his face.

Minato stared at his friend, the Wizard was sat on the end of the bed with his head bowed, fingers clamped over a bloody wound on his forearm and a tangible weight of guilt darkening the air around him.

"What happened?" he asked quietly, having managed to pull the ice off by this point. He hadn't received the full story from his ANBU, all he heard was '_Harii-san_', '_unknown ANBU_', '_injury_' and '_hospital_' before he was out of the room and **Shunshin**ing straight to where he could feel Harii's unique Chakra residing.

"I... decided to practice. Get my Elemental Affinities back in whack. Sort myself out. I... I had just started and then she screamed. I tried to see what was wrong but she stabbed me and her mask started crying blood. Her eyes had melted. I think... I think I caused it." Jade green eyes stared at him, caught between guilt and self-loathing.

It was one thing to kill someone, to torture them. They were the enemy, someone you shouldn't feel remorse for.

But allies, hurting allies wasn't right. Harry had hurt an Ally, he'd melted the poor girl's eyes, tortured her and completely by accident!

"I melted a little girl's eyes out."

"She was ROOT, Harii. Hardly just any little girl," Minato pointed out.

"Still a child, regardless of how she was raised," the wizard snapped, running his bloody hand through his hair before realising what he'd done and pulling a face. The Shinobi shook his head and went hunting for some bandages, he shouldn't have been surprised that the Medic Nins hadn't been in yet, Harry wasn't well liked because of his association with the so called 'Kyuubi-brat' and the fact he was a foreigner. Plus, an _Uchiha_ had just had her _eyes_ _**melted**_, that was far more important.

"Never the less," he said, grabbing everything he would need to fix the other male up, "She was ANBU, an assassin and certainly not one loyal to me. There are no Uchiha in ANBU." He pulled Harry's hand away from the stab wound and got to work cleaning it.

"Is that all you care about?" Harry asked quietly, staring at him with dead eyes. "The fact that she wasn't loyal to you?"

Minato paused, bloody cotton wool in hand, blue meeting green.

Was it? He didn't feel anything for her. Not concern, not horror, not even pity. Just a certain... vindication. Almost... _satisfaction_.

Harry must have seen it as well because he moved his arm away.

"When did you become so cold?"

**

* * *

**

And done. This chapter anyway.

**I hope you guys liked it. Now, for those of you wondering, no. I'm not making Harry a Weakling. He is not a Chick with a Dick. He will not be the wilting flower or the Damsel in Distress. Fuck. That. Shit.**

**C'mon, I may have had him depressed, I may have had him raped, I may have had him as a variety of other things – but has he EVER been a weakling? **

**Minato and Harry have a long way to go, Minato's just lost his wife and is currently going through major emotional upheavals and confusion, he's stressed and upset and having to deal with a thousand different things at once and Harry's completely off balance from losing part of his soul, losing his Magic – which will hold importance later so shut yer pie-holes and be patient.**

**I **_DO_** know what I'm doing and I want this story to be **_unique_** not just another carbon copy of other fics out there.**

**I like pushing the envelope and trying new things.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Serpent in the Shadow's Challenge Twelve**

**By**

_**Araceil**_

**LIGHTNING ON THE WAVE**

**Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

'_When did you become so cold?_'

It was dark out, rain thundered down on the roof and lashed at curtained windows, no one had even noticed night falling through the thick carpets of growling black clouds, snarling with captured lightning and churning heavy, cold, iron grey rain onto the streets of Konoha below. The room was quiet, filled with the sound of soft baby snores and rain pitter-pattering against the windows, it was warm and smelled sweetly of talc and biscuits and clean clothes.

'_When did you become so cold?_'

Minato flinched as the sky outside yawned with thunder, making the windows rattle in their frames. Naruto slept on, completely oblivious to the sound, a heavy sleeper like his mother, while his father, while Minato lay awake. Tired and tormented.

'_When did you become so cold?_'

They were alone in the room. The futon that usually flanked the other side of Naruto's bed was neatly folded and empty. Harii wasn't home. He had walked out of the Hospital during the hour the blond spent trying to get answers from the ROOT ANBU, not even the ANBU guards he ordered to follow him caught the green eyed male slipping off. He was just _gone_ when Minato got back – he'd signed himself out and left.

The Hokage pulled his bed covers up over his head, desperate to get some sleep but his mind just _wouldn't let him_. It kept replaying those words again and again and again, like a never ending mantra. And the worst thing was, now that he had actually stopped and thought about it...

He knew Harii was right.

The Yondaime groaned quietly, frustration making him kick back his bed covers and sit up, rubbing his face with a tanned hand as he stared at the folded futon guiltily. Chances were Harii had gone to doss down at Obito's, possibly Inoichi's as the two of them had become surprisingly friends after the problems with getting into his skull during Interrogation.

'_When did you become so cold?_'

He sighed and got to his feet, maybe some tea would settle his nerves.

Padding silently down the stairs and into the kitchen, he went about brewing himself a cup and sat heavily at the kitchen table, mind consumed as he waited for the kettle to click off.

His behaviour of late _had_ been unacceptable. Painful as it was to admit, he had been out of line on more than one occasion – Harii had been as well, but he was a civilian and a foreigner, he required leeway as the ways of Konoha were not _his_ ways. When he fought his war, from what Minato had pieced together, he'd fought it _almost_ completely alone with people withholding information from him left right and centre, trying to protect him from the enemy while simultaneously expecting him to be a front line fighter, giving him absolutely no training and expecting him to take down a man who sounded remarkably like Orochimaru. He wasn't of Konoha but even Minato could understand the issues that would have been born when it came to a situation like that, and the parallels it was currently drawing with the situation right now.

And it wasn't just Harii he had been unfair with either, both Kakashi and Obito had suffered him of late and Minato wanted to drown himself in his tea when he looked back on his behaviour.

He'd forced Obito to take Missions of C rank and lower when, by all rights, he should have been doing B ranks, possibly even A ranks with his current skill set – his Fire Manipulation Affinity was widely becoming the best in the Village, second only to his teacher who by now was considered a hazard to Doujutsu users and avoided by both clans, he was becoming so well known for it that he had tentatively been named '_Phoenix Obito_' due to his fiery talents and the fact that he had been considered dead before now and was back, and better than before. Kakashi ended up on the opposite end of the spectrum, Minato trusted him more, had never really considered that he was weak in any form, had _forgotten_ that Kakashi was still only a teenager and sent him on Missions that he had absolutely _no_ business even knowing existed.

And until now, he had never sat down and given it a passing thought.

What kind of man was he? What kind of _Hokage?_ He was shaming Konoha with his actions and that needed to change, and soon, before more than just those closest to him suffered and it ended up being the whole country.

* * *

"You need to go to the Hospital."

Minato frowned at the man, half standing up, a painful sinking sensation in his stomach, "Why? What's happened? Are Harii and Naruto alright?" he asked, voice beginning to border on frantic.

Shikaku shook his head and gestured for the somewhat younger man to sit down, "Calm down Minato, they're both fine. Naruto more than Harii in any case." The blond Hokage sat back down and frowned at the head of the Nara Clan, one of his most trusted Shinobi, he had guided Minato through some of his most confusing and frightening Missions when he was a fresh Chuunin and testing his wings out of Jiraiya's protective shadow. Back in the beginning of the war. If Shikaku was anxious about something, especially about Harii, then something was seriously wrong and Minato needed to pay full attention.

"How so? Please, explain Shikaku-san," he said, gesturing for the other man to take a seat.

Doing so, the scarred Jounin leaned forward and clasped his fingers, "Very well, I'll get straight to the point. Harii came and stayed with myself and my family last night, he claimed that if he went anywhere else you would be able to find him far too easily and he needed to get away, from _you_ specifically." Minato winced at the reprimanding look on the Clan Head's face, while Shikaku and Harii weren't exactly best buddies, they were friends and shared more than a few drinks and giggled with one another, mainly over the whole Deer thing and how Shikaku attempted to breed him, even going so far as dousing one of the females with an extra strength mating pheromone to try and entice him. It hadn't worked.

He nodded at Minato's reaction, "I don't know what happened but he's pretty upset and confused. Not to mention concerned about you," the dark haired man pointed out coolly, "But he's not the only one who's noticed, Inoichi's spoken to me as well along with a few others, we're concerned about you Minato. I know losing your wife was a hard blow, harder than I could probably ever imagine, not to mention Sealing that thing in your son and ex-communicating your best friend from his home- " Minato sat up straighter in shock, what? " -but you need to get your head screwed on, you can't carry on like you have been. You're the _Hokage_. More than just Harii and Naruto rely on you right now, the whole village does."

"I know, I know..." he agreed quietly, Shikaku was right, he was always right, damn him. But that didn't make it any easier, he just had so much on his plate, too much, it felt like his head was going to burst open or whatever control he had would snap and he'd end up burning the village down cackling madly with glee.

"I want you to see a Councillor, Minato," the scarred man finally told him, making the blond look up at him in shock, "Inoichi's already volunteered and you know he's loyal, hell, he made a list of recommendations for people you can see, all of them one-hundred percent loyal and all of them psychologists." There was a pause and Shikaku kind of half winced as he scratched his hair, "Most of them _are_ torture and interrogation though. But seriously Minato, you need to talk to someone about this shit and both you and Harii are too stressed and raw from everything to talk to _each other_ without it degenerating into a full on fight – which is another thing. Why the hell are you babying him?"

"Babying? No, I'm _protecting _him. He doesn't have his magic anymore, he – "

"Just kicked my ass at Taijutsu without using Chakra, Magic or any of his Elemental talents," Shikaku finished bluntly, eyeing the younger Jounin with something that tasted bitterly of disappointment, making the blond wince in almost physical pain. "He fought a war Minato. You're trying to baby a living _weapon_ here. You're only going to piss him off. He's too prideful and stubborn to let you shelter him when no one gave a flying fuck before hand. He's passed the Sink or Swim stage, he doesn't need rubber-bands and life guards anymore."

"Its just – " Minato tried to say.

"He has no Magic, yes, but he never really needed it, did he? You don't. I don't. Obito's pointed out that he rarely used Magic for anything other than heavy combat and healing, everything else was done with hand where as some Magic folk use it for everything, cooking, gardening, even summoning something from across the otherside of the room because they're too lazy to get up. Minato, he's trying to conform to our ways, you're stopping him and its pissing _both_ of you off because you're _both_ as stubborn as brick walls reinforced with Chakra and several inches of solid iron! Let him train for gods sake and then you can use those ANBU you have guarding him for something else, something _important_."

"But Naruto – "

"Do you trust me? Do you understand what I'm saying Minato because this can't continue. If it does I'm going to have to call the Council and request a change in Leadership," the Jounin warned, his eyes hard and unrelenting. "You're a fine Kage Minato, but that was during a war. Do you have what it takes to lead us during peace? If you don't, then you may want to start looking for a successor."

The room was heavy and dark with silence as the two men stared at each other, both with churning emotions and faces of immovable stone and steel. Shikaku felt guilty, badly, but it needed to be said, he _liked_ Minato, honestly but the death of his wife had shaken him down to the core and he was drowning in everything right now. He needed jarring back into reality because nothing seemed to have worked so far, he hadn't even reacted to Harii's vanishing act, no ANBU looking for him, no village searches... nothing. What if someone had abducted him? For someone who held no respect or appreciation for the foreigner's skill, he was surprisingly accepting of his disappearance.

"I'll see myself out," Shikaku stated, already knowing that Minato needed time to digest his words and come to a decision, "Harii plans on staying with Kakashi tonight as Obito and Rin have something planned. Talk to him, and for Kami-sama's sake, get the stick out of your ass before hand!"

And he was gone.

Leaving Minato with nothing more than a piece of paper fluttering down onto his desk, the list of people who had been suggested to speak with him regarding his mental health and current issues. He stared at the names in silence, somewhat surprised to see the Sandaime there...

Minato sighed and got to his feet, casually creating a Kage Bunshin and requesting it finish the paperwork while he went and spoke with Sarutobi Hizuren, after all, who better to keep the confidence and understand the secrets and stresses of the Hokage position than the man who held it the longest?

Hopefully, _hopefully_, things would improve. He just needed to sort himself out and then he could work on everything else.

* * *

It was quite late when Minato showed up at Kakashi's flat, Naruto was back at the flat, fast asleep with Tenzou who had taken the day off at the Academy to look after his '_little brother_' because Minato had to work and Harii had gone MIA after their latest argument. Kakashi had let him in without a word and began to prepare some tea, quietly explaining that Harii was asleep already and likely would be for a while after the herbs the teenage ANBU slipped into his cup. Minato frowned, prepared to scold the younger teenager for drugging Harii when the last Hatake silenced him with a hand gesture that was typically used during a battlefield scenario.

"He's worrying himself ill, Sensei," Kakashi explained quietly, "So is Obito, regardless of how annoyed he is."

Minato smiled, making Kakashi scowl slightly, "I know Kashi. Shikaku already came and gave me a royal chewing out over the whole thing. I've spoken with the Sandaime and I'm planning on taking some time off, just a week, to sort myself out completely, he's already agreed to step up and take care of things while I'm out of office."

Kakashi stared at him before nodding, relaxing into his chair, "That's good."

"I've arranged it so you, Rin and Obito get the week off as well," Minato pointed out, making the teenager jerk in surprise, "I've done the both of you a great disservice and while Obito's has been of no danger to him, to you... my putting you on those Missions, you shouldn't have had to go through them. And if you're anything like me when it comes to talking about that sort of thing, you'll have avoided the Psych-Nin like the plague, am I right?" he teased slightly, smirking when the visible skin just above his face mask turned pink and his eye darted away. Of course Kakashi avoided the Psych-nin, every Jounin did because every single one of them was crazy and if the Psych-Nin knew just how badly most of that went... Konoha wouldn't have any Jounin, at least no good ones, to be great, you had to be crazy. It was a scientific fact.

"There's no arguing with you on this one, is there, Sensei?" Kakashi asked, his tone already defeated.

Minato grinned evilly, "Nope. And speaking of arguing, what's this about you teaching my Son how to say Icha Icha?"

Kakashi gulped.

* * *

Leaning against the wall in the bedroom, Harry smiled in amusement and relief.

It sounded like his friend was coming back to him, slowly but surely, but perhaps not entirely unmarred by recent events he decided as he listened to Kakashi yelp in pain as Minato exacted some kind of punishment on his young student for teaching Naruto naughty words. Only time would tell just how marred Minato would be from this blue period, but Harry was hopeful.

The blond buffoon would be back to his old self, but newer and improved. Hopefully.

* * *

**This Chapter... was beyond a bitch to write. I am so sorry to everyone who has waited so long for... well, **this**. Very lack lustre Chapter I know but I'm fed up with Minato being such a misery guts, yes he's serious and wise and shit but he's just turned into a dick. So, I'm getting him some therapy no jutsu from the Sandaime – who doesn't do it as well as Naruto so it'll take some time before I stop having Minato's temperment flip between neutrotic mother-hen, douchy dictator, uptight neat-freak, easily embarrassed best friend and wise all knowing-Hokage-sama.**

**Rest assured, I haven't abandoned this. It won't be abandoned until I post a Note SAYING so. 8) promise.**

**Also, still hurting for future ideas and scenes. Share any ideas you have, c'mon, if I like it, I'll work it in.**


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